Perspective on life
by missing nin
Summary: When Keitaro's favorite cousin, Yamato Akitsuki runs away from his troubles, Keitaro offers him a place to stay at the Hinata House. With someone looking up to him, Keitaro begins to reexamine his life and the people in his life. -On Hiatus-
1. Chapter 1

**After a long break I have returned with a new story. **

**This is basically a Love Hina Fan Fiction with branches into other anime/manga, the main being Suzuka. This story takes place at Love Hina around chapter 55 before 56 and Suzuka chapter 127. **

XXXXX

**Chapter 1**

At a bus stop on a lonely Tokyo street sat two people. One was a twenty year old cram school student and dormitory land lord, the other was a seventeen year old high school student and track star. Looking at them you wouldn't be able to tell that they were cousins. One spent all his time with his nose in books trying to get into his dream university, the other was a star athlete who didn't really care about academics. One of the things besides blood that they shared was the fact that they both lived in dormitories and where surrounded by women. This would sound like any man's dream but in actuality was closer to a nightmare. Keitaro Urashima and Yamato Akitsuki both understood each other's pain.

"So all the women in your life banded together to tell you what a complete failure you are." Keitaro sighed.

"You say it like it was nothing. You weren't there." Yamato shouted.

"Oh, the mean lady hurt my feelings." Keitaro patronized his younger cousin. "At least you don't get beaten."

"We can go on all night talking about who has it worse. It won't change my mind." Yamato sneered.

"I didn't come here to change your mind. I came here to make sure you didn't do anything stupid. Now grab your bags and come back with me to the Hinata." Keitaro ordered.

"You can't boss me around." Yamato declared.

"Maybe I should make a phone call to Hiroshima." Keitaro threatened.

"You wouldn't dare." Yamato gulped.

"It's been a while, how should I greet everyone." Keitaro thought out loud.

"Why do you have to be such a jerk?" Yamato huffed.

"I'm not being a jerk. I'm just looking out for my foolish cousin." Keitaro said as he began walking away.

"I'm not your foolish cousin anymore. My grades have improved." Yamato argued as he followed Keitaro.

"I can't believe aunt Ayano would let things get so out of hand." Keitaro mumbled.

"She always picks Suzuka's side. She treats me like a moron." Yamato complained.

"Probably because you are one." Keitaro took off running.

"I'll show you." Yamato gave chase.

XXXXX

The residents of the Hinata House all sat in the common room eying their manager suspiciously. Keitaro and his cousin stood in front of the girls nervous. Yamato had heard stories about the Hinata House from Keitaro and now that he was under the gaze of the girls he could feel the fear his cousin felt.

"Hey." Keitaro croaked.

"What is the meaning of this house meeting and who is he?" Naru asked very annoyed that she was dragged away from her studies.

"Don't tell me you're playing for the other team now." Kitsune teased.

"What's the other team?" Sarah asked confused.

"Come on; let's give sempai a chance to explain." Shinobu tried to speak up.

"Thank you Shinobu." Keitaro calmed himself down. He was mentally berating himself for not thinking things all the way through.

"You're Yamato Akitsuki, I saw you run in the hundred meters at inter high." Motoko said without looking interested.

"Yeah, I am." Yamato laughed nervously.

"You started off brilliantly but ultimately failed." Motoko continued causing Yamato to hunch over in defeat.

"Well Yamato is my cousin." Keitaro tried to change the topic.

"Does that mean he is immortal like you?" Su asked excitedly.

"No, he is from my mother's side of the family." Keitaro tried to discourage the foreign girl from trying any experiments.

"The important question should be why is he here so late at night?" Motoko raised an eyebrow.

"I really don't have anywhere else to be. Everyone hates me back there." Yamato said bitterly.

"I was thinking Yamato could stay with me for a while and help out around here. I could use the help." Keitaro laughed.

"No way, one guy at an all girls dorm is bad enough." Naru protested.

"I agree, two vile males is two too many." Motoko joined Naru.

"Yamato will stay in my room. I have the extra futon. I'll vouch that he is a good kid, you guys trust me right." Keitaro pleaded.

"We did trust you, we all thought you were so cool until you came bursting into the onsen." Naru brought up the day's main event.

"You actually did that?" Yamato couldn't believe it.

"I was so excited that I finally solved a problem that had been perplexing me the entire day." Keitaro tried to brush it off.

"If sempai says it's going to be fine then I think we can let his cousin stay here for a while. I don't mind doing more cooking." Shinobu tried to be on Keitaro's side.

"As long as he doesn't eat banana's I guess it fine." Su bounced around.

"I don't know. What if he is even clumsier then Keitaro." Sarah thought about the idea for a minute. "On second thought, we should let him stay."

"I'm not going to agree to this." Motoko was definite in her stance.

"Keeping an eye out for one pervert is already such hard work." Naru said.

"Wow Keitaro, you really are a pervert." Yamato sighed.

"I'm not!" Keitaro defended himself. "I'm just always in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"I don't know girls, having another guy around could be fun." Kitsune smirked.

"NO!" Keitaro yelled getting in front of Yamato. "He is still a kid."

"I don't care about your silly games Mitsune; I only care about keeping the sanctity of the house and protecting the girls here." Motoko shot a glare at the fox.

"I remember you as well from the inter-high competition as well Aoyama." Yamato spoke up.

The room filled with a silence that was brought by shock. Motoko gritted her teeth; the kendo girl had not informed anyone she competed at inter-high. She had lied and told them she was gone training. She wanted to be angry at Yamato for revealing her secret but couldn't because her dishonesty was her own fault.

"You never told us you competed at the inter-high games." Keitaro blurted out.

Naru tried to hide the shock on her face. "What do you expect Keitaro, when it comes to kendo no one can beat Motoko."

"Wow, Motoko-sempai you must be amazing to compete at inter-high." Shinobu gushed.

"What's an inter-high? Is it tasty?" Su asked.

Yamato picked up on the fact that Motoko never told anyone about competing in inter-high.

"I'm sorry for outing you, I thought everyone knew." Yamato apologized.

"It's not your fault." Motoko found it hard to say those words. "I should have told everyone here. I didn't tell anyone because I lost."

"I wouldn't say that. You were competing against third year students." Yamato shouted.

"Still, a loss is a loss." Motoko didn't want to make any excuses. "My sister defeated third year students while still in her first year."

"You have such pretty high standards." Yamato mumbled.

"Did you say something?" Motoko frowned.

The young sprinter quickly played the fool and pretended nothing happened.

"Listen guys, I'm the land lord and I do almost all the work around here. I have some really tough and important tests coming up. Yamato is going to help me by doing some of my chores so I can study." Keitaro declared.

Yamato abruptly pulled his cousin one side away from the girls to discuss the issue.

"I never agreed to do any chores." Yamato whispered.

"This is the real world kid, nothing is free. If you had run away, how were you going to take care of yourself?" Keitaro poked his cousin.

"I would have made a plan." Yamato shot back.

"Really, I seriously doubt that. Like it or not I'm teaching you a lesson here." Keitaro countered.

"And what lesson might that be?" Yamato asked.

"I'm not sure as yet but there is a lesson in there somewhere." Keitaro dragged Yamato back to the girls.

Naru eyed the two males with a steely gaze. "What were you two discussing over there?"

"Yamato here." Keitaro place his arm around his cousin's shoulders. "He was saying that I should concentrate on my studies and that he would take care of most of chores. Isn't he the best?"

"One week. That's all he has. I'm only allowing this as a favor to you Urashima but he better not try anything." Motoko warned clutching her bokken.

"Well if Motoko is going to allow it then one week is fine. He better not mess up my studying." Naru threatened.

XXXXX

At Yamato's previous residence the Asahi Heights Bath House and Women's dorm there were two teenage high school girls standing outside his apartment. The first was Suzuka Asahina, Yamato's neighbor and ex-girlfriend and the other was Saki Asai, Yamato's childhood crush.

Saki was busy knocking at Yamato's door while holding a box of cookies. Suzuka stood next to Saki half asleep, only woken up by the sound of knocking.

"I've been here for ten minutes." Saki said nervously.

"I know. You woke me up ten minutes ago." Suzuka huffed.

"You don't think he would do anything stupid in there." Saki pressed her ear against the door.

"I don't think so." Suzuka remembered his dejected face at the end of dinner.

"We said some pretty harsh things at dinner." Saki said as she tried to force Yamato's door open.

Suzuka dashed into her apartment and after a few minutes returned with an even more worried look on her face.

"There's a hole in the wall between our apartments. That jerk blocked it with something." Suzuka explained nervously.

Saki dropped her box of cookies and tried kicking down the door but only ended up hurting her leg. Suzuka tried shoulder tackling the door but lacked the size and strength to break it down. The anxious and concerned teens raced to Ayano, Yamato's aunt and the building owner to get her to open the door.

XXXXX

In the manager's room of the Hinata House, Keitaro and Yamato were both moving the futons around trying to give each other enough space. The two were talking about the old days when they were younger and used to play in Hiroshima, of course everything they said was in a hushed whisper. With Naru just above them, they wouldn't want to disturb the studying red head.

"So when are you going to tell me what exactly happened tonight?" Keitaro asked pulling out a math's book.

"I don't want to get in the way of your studying." Yamato didn't want to talk about it.

"If you keep bottling up everything, you're going to explode one day." Keitaro joked.

"I've got all my emotions under control." Yamato smirked.

"Yamato, there are two kinds of angry people in this world: explosive and implosive. Explosive, which is the most common, is the type of individual you see screaming at a grocery store cashier for not taking his coupon. Implosive, the least common, is the cashier at the store who remains quiet at his job day after day until he then finally loses it and just shoots everyone in the store. You're the cashier." Keitaro explained.

"You totally ripped off that line from a movie." Yamato accused.

Keitaro fumbled with his text book after getting caught but regained his composure. "Regardless, it's a very true statement and that was one heck of a movie."

"Well you tell then, who should I be angry at? The girls? My aunt? Miho? Myself?" Yamato asked.

"The world pushes us without mercy and when some of us push back the world points and cries out "Evil"." Keitaro stated for no particular reason.

"You're not going to be of any help are you? I have to try and do this on my own." Yamato sighed.

"Do or do not, there is no try." Keitaro said.

"Enough with the movie lines!" Yamato almost shouted.

"Sorry, got carried away." Keitaro apologized. "So what are you going to do about school?"

"Well, tomorrow is Saturday so no school but I do have training." Yamato dreaded the idea of seeing Suzuka.

"That's good; you can go to training after you complete your chores." Keitaro smiled.

"Wait, you were serious about that?" Yamato questioned but Keitaro ignored him.

XXXXX

**AN: There you have it, the first chapter. Hope you enjoyed it, I know it's not much but please let me know what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I wrote this chapter using the stuff that was mentioned in the reviews. This chapter marks the introduction of GTO into the story. **

**Chapter 2**

Yamato tossed and turned in his sleep. The sound of Keitaro feverously writing and then squashing paper was keeping him up. Yamato looked over at the clock and saw that it was one in the morning.

"Are you okay?" Yamato asked waking up.

"I'm fine, just go back to sleep." Keitaro replied.

"You don't sound okay. Are you sure you're fine?" Yamato asked.

"I said I'm fine." Keitaro shot back.

"Typically responses from you, whenever someone from your family tries to help you treat them like garbage." Yamato scoffed.

"What exactly are you getting at?" Keitaro asked annoyed.

"I always thought it was the way you were, how you treated your parents and Kanako was just your attitude but then seeing how you act around the girls." Yamato answered.

"You don't know what you're talking about?" Keitaro sneered.

"I do know, I've only been here for a few hours but I can see it all too well. You're an ass to your family but a nice guy and total push over to those girls. You're a total hypocrite, giving me advice you would never use, I mean you're more a cashier than I am." Yamato got off his chest.

"I gave you some good advice that you should follow." Keitaro tried to ignore what Yamato said.

"That advice is worthless because you don't follow it whatsoever." Yamato responded.

"You've only been here for a short time, how can you say it like you know everything." Keitaro questioned.

"That's easy, because you've complaining about this place to me for a long time now and you haven't done anything about it. I used to look up to you growing up but…" Yamato retorted.

Tired and worn out Keitaro pulled his hair in frustration. "I am a selfish, pathetic, hypocritical bastard. All I do is complain with taking action. I've treated Kanako, my parents and now even you badly."

"For the record, I never said pathetic or selfish." Yamato clarified.

"I guess I should try changing now that I have someone looking up to me." Keitaro laughed.

"I used to." Yamato corrected.

"Thank you for saying what needed to be said." Keitaro got back to his books.

XXXXX

Yamato dragged sleepy body up the stairs to the terrace carrying a bucket and a mop. He forced himself to wake up early so he could get his chores done and make it to practice in time. Letting out a massive yawn he stumbled out onto the terrace. Rubbing the sleeping from his eyes he could barely make things out but he could see the girl from yesterday, Motoko, training with her bokken.

She had her eyes closed as closed as she concentrated and waited. A gust of wind blew some leaves into the air in front of her and she made her move. The kendo girl began swinging her bokken at the air and when she stopped the leaves fell to ground all torn to shreds.

"That was amazing!" Yamato exclaimed, alerting Motoko to his presence.

Before he could react she dashed towards him and pointed her bokken at him. The shock caused him to drop the bucket and mop.

"Did you come here to stalk me like a predator?" Motoko questioned with a menacing glare.

"No!" Yamato shuddered. "I came here to mop down the terrace. Keitaro told me to."

Motoko pulled back her bokken and walked back to where she was training.

"Aren't you going to apologize for that?" Yamato asked.

"Apologize for what?" Motoko replied ticked off.

"Apologize for coming at me with that weapon." Yamato explained.

Motoko tried to keep her face from showing her rage. "You were the one who startled me while I was training, for all I know you could have been looking at me perversely. You're lucky I was able to hold back my bokken."

"What is up with you and thinking that all men are perverts?" Yamato asked not really expecting an answer.

"All males are vile perverts, it's a fact." Motoko stated calmly.

"It's not really a fact; it's more like your opinion." Yamato corrected.

"Excuse me?" Motoko glared.

"Generally speaking, a fact is something that has actually happened or that is empirically true and can be supported by evidence. An opinion is a belief; it is normally subjective, meaning that it can vary based on a person's perspective." Yamato stated in know it all tone.

"Don't try and fool me with fancy words. I've seen enough of this world to know that all men want only one thing." Motoko clutched her bokken tighter.

"I don't seem to follow. What exactly is this one thing that all men want?" Yamato smirked.

Motoko began blushing but realized that Yamato was messing with her when she saw the smile on his face. The enraged kendo girl sprung at him. Yamato barely avoided Motoko's bokken swing.

"No way, how did you dodge?" Motoko asked slightly stunned.

"Keitaro warned me that you prefer to solve things with your sword rather than words so I was prepared to move from the instant we started speaking." Yamato boasted.

"Let's see you dodge this." Motoko smirked.

This time Yamato was unprepared as he jumped away. Motoko managed to connect with a stiff bokken strike to his arm causing him to fall down clutching the area the bokken struck.

"Are you crazy?" Yamato screamed.

Motoko stared in shock at the red welt on Yamato's arm. She had held back and expected there to be nothing but then again this wasn't the incredibly durable Keitaro.

"I'm sorry that you deserve it." Motoko struggled to apologize.

"Why?" Yamato asked getting up.

"You see…" Motoko tried to think of an excuse.

"Because I'm a vile male." Yamato hissed.

"I suppose that's reason enough. I hate all men, they're all the same." Motoko replied.

"You know what then, I hate all women. They're all the same. They think they know everything and expect us to know what's going on in their minds and when we don't it's our fault." Yamato yelled.

"Just like a typical man to blame his problems on others." Motoko huffed.

"And you're just like a typical woman, to stubborn to see she's wrong." Yamato countered.

"A chauvinistic pig like you probably thinks women are not as strong as men." The kendo girl declared.

"You know what, that word isn't just for guys. You're a chauvinist as well." Yamato announced.

"How dare you?"

"I'm done with this. You're just like all the other girls I've met. You're never going to admit you were wrong." Yamato said walking away.

Motoko ignored his words and went back to her training but the words kept coming back to annoy her.

XXXXX

The breakfast table had a very tense atmosphere as Naru and Keitaro were both on edge after pulling an all night study session. The third member of their study group, Mutsumi Otohime, was as fresh as a daisy and this added to Naru and Keitaro's frustration.

"If you two don't watch it you're going to burn yourselves out." Kitsune warned.

"You should be careful sempai." Shinobu's face was plastered with worry.

"Oh my, you two look so tired." Mutsumi said as she sliced a watermelon.

"Where did she get that from?" Keitaro asked not remembering the absent minded girl having one a few seconds ago.

"Who knows? It's almost like she has an infinite supply. It's really creepy." Naru whispered.

"Naru, you don't mean that." Keitaro whispered back.

Naru dropped her head and rubbed her temples. "You're right; I'm just cranky from lack of sleep."

"So how do you do it?" Kitsune nudged Mutsumi.

"I don't know what you mean." Mutsumi tilted her head at the question.

"I think Mitsune is talking about how you manage to look so beautiful and refreshed after spending all night studying." Shinobu looked at the older woman with admiration.

"I'm not really sure. I guess it's natural." Mutsumi smiled.

"With a smile like that I'm surprised that you don't have a boyfriend." Kitsune began teasing.

"Well, there is someone I like but I haven't been able to get to them." Mutsumi blushed.

Naru was beginning to get slightly agitated by the relaxed nature of the situation. She felt that being examinees they had to be serious all the time. She never relaxed liked this and fooled around when she was studying in high school.

"Are you okay Naru? You seem upset." Keitaro pointed out.

The red head slowly turned her head towards the unsuspecting male, her eyes wide and daunting. "What makes you say that?"

Keitaro began sweating and shivering at the same time. "Nothing…" He squeaked.

Mutsumi who was busy trying to answer all of Kitsune's questions finally got to her objective for the day. "Kei-kun, I wanted to ask you something."

Mutsumi's question freed Keitaro from Naru's intense stare.

"Sure Mutsumi." Keitaro said relieved.

The anemic girl stared across the table at Keitaro with a dreamy look in her eyes. "Kei-kun, I know you're busy today but … will you take me out for a date?"

Everyone at the table erupted with shock. Kitsune had a smile from ear to ear while Shinobu looked like she could burst into tears. Naru's entire being trembled with astonishment like she received a kick in the teeth.

"You can't. Examinees don't have that kind of time to waste." Naru yelled even though she was unsure as to why she was so upset.

Mutsumi tilted her head at the statement from confusion but still managed to smile.

"Oh silly me, I guess it wouldn't be right to call it a date. Why don't we spend the day together buying textbooks?" Mutsumi asked.

Naru sat there with an interested expression hiding her frustration. Kitsune was still smiling while Shinobu had run off.

"Hmm." Keitaro pondered about the idea. "That would be great. There are a few textbooks that I could use." The Urashima then turned and saw the scowl on Naru's face.

"Do you mind if I go out with Mutsumi?" Keitaro asked the red head.

"Off course she does." Kitsune tried to pour fuel onto the fire.

Naru shot her best friend a look warning her. "You don't need my permission." Naru sneered at Keitaro.

"That's great. I'll meet you at around three at our favorite fountain." Mutsumi got up and left.

"I'm so proud, Keitaro has grown into a man." Kitsune teased.

As Kitsune laughed they were joined by Motoko who wasn't in a very good mood. A few minutes later Yamato joined them.

"What happened to your arm?" Keitaro asked pointing to the bandages on Yamato's arm.

"She happened." Yamato glared at Motoko.

"It's your own fault." The kendo girl scoffed.

"How did it happen? You can't go around just attacking everyone." Keitaro scolded.

"Motoko wouldn't just attack without reason; he is the one at fault." Naru glared at Keitaro.

"I didn't do anything. I went to mop up the terrace and then she lost her cool." Yamato explained.

"You were the one who startled me." Motoko defended.

"I don't think that's fair Motoko." Keitaro stood up for his cousin.

"Shouldn't you be getting ready to go out with Mutsumi?" Naru said scornfully.

"Wait, Keitaro actually has a date with a real live girl, that isn't his promise girl." Yamato spoke up stunned.

"Don't say it like that. It's like you have no faith in me." Keitaro cried.

"How did you trick innocent Otohime into going out with a predator like you?" Motoko stared at Keitaro.

"She asked me to go buy textbooks with her." Keitaro explained.

"Buy text books." Yamato winked.

"So you manipulated the poor girl." Motoko grabbed her bokken.

"Honestly, I think our all night study session hurt her judgment." Naru said off handedly.

"Let's all try and be civilized for this week as long as Yamato's here." Keitaro tried calming the situation down.

"I don't think I'll be staying here for a week after all." Yamato rubbed his arm.

At this Motoko chuckled. "Just like a typical man, running away when things get difficult."

"You know Aoyama, you're right. I have run away from my problems before but just to stick it to you and prove that you can be wrong, I will stay here for the week. I will do all the chores I agreed to and keep up my training. It's Saturday today, I can't wait to see your face in seven days." Yamato declared standing up.

"I believe in you kid. I know you can do." Keitaro shouted.

"I'll believe that when I see it." Motoko laughed getting up from the table.

"I'm going to study a little bit." Naru left as well.

Yamato and Keitaro sat at the table with a small sense of victory flowing through them.

"So you're really planning on sticking it out through the week." Keitaro asked.

"I wanna see her smug face at the end of the week when he realizes she was wrong." Yamato smirked.

"That's good because you still have to clean the terrace before you leave for practice." Keitaro pointed out.

"Are you serious?" Yamato sighed as he walked away defeated.

XXXXX

Miki Hashiba, Suzuka's best friend, and Yasunobu Hattori, the closest thing Yamato had to a best friend, were currently trying to calm Suzuka down. The high jump specialist was on the edge from the previous night.

"So he ran away and all he left was a note?" Miki asked trying to confirm what Suzuka had told her.

"I bet you girls did something to him and not a good something." Yasunobu accused.

"We were just talking and I guess we might have taken it a bit far." Suzuka admitted.

"Don't worry, the fool will turn up somewhere. Just keep an eye out in the papers for victim identification request." Yasunobu joked.

Miki smacked the back of the blondes head to knock some sense into him. "This is not the time for your lame jokes."

"I'm sorry; I thought I was lightening the mood." Yasunobu snickered.

As Yasunobu and Miki argued, Miho Fujikawa and Honoka Sakurai joined them. Miho was Yamato's younger cousin by two years and Honoka was his ex-girlfriend.

"Miho, what are you doing here? I thought you were going to stay back with Ayano." Suzuka exclaimed surprised to see the young girl who spent most of the night crying.

"I called her." Honoka explained. "Someone said they saw Yamato at the train station and that he was on his way to school."

As if providence Yamato jogged onto the track field. Within a few minutes Yamato had Tsuyoshi Kusakabe in head lock while Tetsuhito Kinugasa had Yamato in a head lock. Yamato freed himself and stumbled across the field laughing after catching up with the former captain. The smile disappeared from his face when he came across Suzuka and everyone else.

Without a word or warning Suzuka unleashed a devastating slap across Yamato's face.

"How could you just leave like that without a word?" Suzuka cried.

Everyone else remained silent unsure of what to say or how to act.

"I left a note." Yamato answered softly.

"A note. A note!" Suzuka yelled. "We were so worried, we thought you, we thought you…" Suzuka couldn't finish what she wanted to say. "Ayano called the police."

"I'm sorry about that but I couldn't take living with people who only think of me as a failure." Yamato replied as he started walking away.

"Akitsuki, are you okay?" Honoka asked standing in Yamato's path.

"I'm actually fine, don't worry about it." Yamato smiled.

"You're not fine. People who are fine don't run away from home." Miki blurted out.

"Hey, let's cut the guy some slack." Yasunobu tried to help his friend but backed down under the intense stares of the girls gathered.

"What happened to your arm? Did you get hurt?" Miho yelled noticing the bandage on Yamato's arm.

"Oh, don't worry about that. Just the wrong place at the wrong time." Yamato chuckled to himself.

"Where did you spend the night?" Miho questioned.

"I got a place to stay with family." Yamato explained vaguely. "So you shouldn't worry."

"So you're just running away?" Suzuka asked.

"It's not running, it's moving on." Yamato retorted.

XXXXX

Keitaro stood at the fountain Mutsumi told him about waiting for the girl to arrive. He paced around thinking about his current love life or more specifically lack of love life. Frustrating thoughts about Naru, his promise girl and Mutsumi possibly being his promise girl clouded his mind.

"Hope you didn't wait too long." Mutsumi smiled as she came running up to Keitaro.

"Mutsumi!" Keitaro squeaked surprised as he broke from his day dream.

As she ran closer the girl from Okinawa tripped and fell over landing face first on the pavement.

"Are you okay?" Keitaro screamed as he ran to pick Mutsumi up. To his surprise she was completely unscathed.

"I'm so clumsy." She laughed off the fall.

"Wait up." Keitaro called out as he gave chase to very fast anemic.

Unknown to Keitaro he was being followed by a jealous red head, who being tailed by her bored best friend.

After going through a few bookstores and buying the text books they came for they decided to stop and have lunch at a small restaurant. The restaurant was practically empty besides from a few other patrons which included a disguised Naru and Kitsune.

"I just love beef bowls." Mutsumi said as she began eating.

"I've never met a girl who liked beef bowls like me before." Keitaro remembered the time Naru scolded him for bringing her to a beef bowl stand.

At the next table Naru kept her identity hidden by holding up a newspaper to cover her face. At the table behind her Kitsune pulled the exact same move. The fox was trying to devise a plan to try and blow Naru's cover without blowing her own.

"Care to join us Naru?" Keitaro waved over to Naru's table.

In shock of having her cover blown Naru ripped the newspaper she was reading in two. The blushing red head staggered over to Keitaro's table and joined them.

"W…What is the o…odds we w…would run into each other h…here?" Naru stuttered embarrassed.

"Oh my, what a lovely surprise to see you Naru." Mutsumi gushed.

"Well, I thought after spending all day cooped up I could use the fresh air." Naru lied.

"That's strange Naru, my cousin texted me that Su is telling anyone and everyone who will listen that you set out to follow us on our date." Keitaro grinned part of him feeling ecstatic that Naru may be jealous.

"So it is a date?" Kitsune burst out from her covert position. Once everyone looked in her direction, the silver haired vixen made a mad dash out of the restaurant.

The mood around the table was slightly confused as they tried to figure out if that was indeed Kitsune.

"I'm going to have a talk with her when I get back." Naru mumbled.

The red head turned back to Keitaro and Mutsumi and found the turtle crazy girl staring intently at Keitaro. Mutsumi moved her head and hand closer to Keitaro causing his face to turn red while Naru began buckling under the couple's closeness. Mutsumi then wiped off a grain of rice of Keitaro's face before moving back to her place.

'It was just rice.' Naru sighed to herself relived.

'It was just rice.' Keitaro moaned to himself disappointed.

'I like watermelons.' Mutsumi thought.

"You two seem awfully close." Naru insinuated.

Keitaro was a bit shocked by the statement but Mutsumi missed the subtle undertone.

"Thank you Naru, Kei-kun is really sweet to me." Mutsumi smiled.

"Is that so?" Naru looked over to Keitaro.

Mutsumi then grabbed Keitaro's head and pulled it towards her. The Okinawan removed Keitaro's glasses and held his cheeks firmly as she moved closer.

"Mutsumi, w…w…what are you doing?" Naru tripped over her tongue.

"I just wanted to get a good look at your face; you're always wearing those glasses and I wondered what your eyes look like up close." Mutsumi smiled as she let go of his face.

"Is that all?" Keitaro asked thankful and dissatisfied at the same time. He could feel his cheeks burning.

"I just want to thank you and Naru." Mutsumi said. "You guys really helped me a lot and put up with me even though I'm clumsy and weak. You both kept me company and thanks to you I think all three of us will get into Todai this year."

"You don't have to say anything, that's what friends are for." Naru's eyes filled with tears.

"Keep smiling, keep shining, and knowing you can always count on me, for sure. That's what friends are for, for good times and bad times I'll be on your side forever more. That's what friends are for." Keitaro said almost breaking into songs.

"That's a song." Naru glared.

"Ah!" Keitaro yelled realizing he got caught.

"Well, I thought it was a lovely song." Mutsumi smiled.

XXXXX

It was supper time at the Hinata House and everyone was gathered at the dinner table. Su and Sarah were going on about all the tunnels they discovered. Kitsune was snickering at Naru but also trying to hide it. Motoko was uninterested in what everyone else was up to. Keitaro sat uncomfortably between Naru and Mutsumi. Shinobu was busy making sure everyone had enough to eat. Yamato sat at the table barely able to contain his exhaustion after training and house chores.

"Wow, Shinobu the food looks great." Keitaro complimented.

"Well since this is the first time your cousin is having dinner with us I thought I would make a good impression." Shinobu blushed.

"Thanks, this is really amazing." Yamato said holding back a yawn.

"You could sound more enthusiastic." Motoko scoffed.

There was a brief silence before Kitsune decided to strike.

"So how was the date today?" Kitsune asked.

"Date? I thought you went to buy textbooks sempai." Shinobu exclaimed.

"Wow, the dork actually had a date." Sarah marveled.

"What's a date? Is it tasty?" Su asked.

"Well actually dates are really tasty, not as tasty as watermelons though." Mutsumi answered.

"So he really did trick the poor girl." Motoko clutched her bokken.

"That's great Keitaro; no one back home believed you'd ever go on date." Yamato congratulated.

"That just makes me feel bad." Keitaro complained.

With everyone talking Naru was beginning to lose her cool and exploded. "IT WASN'T A DATE!"

The outburst silenced everyone. A slight fear permeated the air with no one daring to break the hushed peace. Finally Keitaro decided to try and bring back the light atmosphere.

"Of course it wasn't a date, you were there." Keitaro laughed.

Everyone else beside Mutsumi winced at the statement.

"So I was a third wheel?" Naru asked.

"You walked right into that minefield." Yamato said softly.

"It's not nice to whisper like that." Motoko spoke up.

"But you whisper to yourself all the time in your room when you write." Su remembered out loud.

"Su, I warned you about spying on people." Shinobu scolded.

"Ah man, you blew our cover." Sarah frowned.

"You guys are amateurs in the spy game." Kitsune boasted.

"This sounds like a fun game to play." Mutsumi smiled.

The conversation continued to change for the duration of dinner with Keitaro being the main instigator every time he saw the situation would lead to something that would inevitably cause him discomfort.

XXXXX

Keitaro sat at his desk in his room studying as Yamato staggered through the door tired after cleaning the onsen.

"You used to do that every day and study as well." Yamato moaned.

"Well, it used to put me behind on my studies but thanks to you I'm actually ahead." Keitaro said with his head in a book.

"I'm surprised you did all that work and you're still so scrawny. You should be buff as wrestler with all that physical work." Yamato wondered.

"I guess it's my genetics." Keitaro answered.

As Yamato set out his futon there was a knock at the door.

"Urashima, my bedroom door is still ajar." The voice came from the other side of the door.

"It's the crazy sword girl." Yamato shivered.

"I fixed her door this morning. She keeps slamming it shut." Keitaro sighed as he got up.

When the manager opened the door he found an angry red head standing with Motoko.

"Naru, is your door also broken?" Keitaro asked.

"No, you promised to fix my window." Naru reminded.

Keitaro slapped himself for forgetting to fix the window that was jammed in Naru's room. Now he had fix Motoko's door and Naru's window.

"Yamato, aren't you good with doors. Didn't you fix a sauna door once?" Keitaro remembered.

Yamato walked up to his cousin and kept his voice at a hush. "Is it just me or is this place falling apart."

"Could you give us a minute, I'll be right there to sort out the stuff." Keitaro waved goodbye to the girls who left complaining.

The manager sighed as he took of his glasses. "The truth is this place isn't making that much money. The rent from the girls doesn't completely cover the costs. I'm making losses almost every month. I tried to cover up with my salary as manager and a research assistant but it's still not enough. The only thing keeping this place a float is a bank loan."

"I never knew that things are that bad." Yamato said uncomfortably realizing he added to Keitaro's burden.

"I don't really know what to do to make the situation better." Keitaro scratched his head.

"You could get more tenants. You have three rooms that aren't being used." Yamato pointed out.

"That is easier said than done. I placed ads but nothing. Only a couple of guys trying to get lucky with an all girls dorm." Keitaro lamented.

Yamato remained silent unsure of what to say.

"Get some rest; I'll take care of the door and window." Keitaro left the room.

"Do you mind if I fix that hole in your roof. I know you told me it's how you communicate with Narusegawa but that thing is really a potential disaster waiting to happen." Yamato pointed to the hole that Naru and Hina used to talk.

"What are you talking about?" Keitaro asked.

"It doesn't have to be anything major, just enough to prevent someone from falling through. While the girls were studying last night Otohime almost fell through four times." Yamato explained.

"I never noticed that." Keitaro tried to remember.

"That's because you kind of go into your own world while studying." Yamato laughed.

"I guess a few boards to patch up the hole while we study with Mutsumi won't be too bad." Keitaro agreed.

XXXXX

In a small apartment in a building opposing the Holy Forest Academy, a young couple was involved in a heated argument.

"Look at these bills! These are absolutely ridiculous things to be buying on our credit card considering your salary!" She yelled.

Her name was Urumi Kanzaki; she was once regarded as a prodigy, with an IQ over 200. The beautiful twenty year old blonde was also a heterochromatic, possessing different colored eyes, one brown and one blue.

"I'm sorry. I thought I was going to get a big bonus." He tried to laugh it off.

His name was Eikichi Onizuka; he was a teacher even though he was an ex-gangster with bleached blonde hair.

"That's your excuse every month. You told me not to take that job because you would control your spending but now…" Urumi sighed.

"What are you saying?" Eikichi asked.

"I'm going to have to take that job, for a year at least to be able to pay of all these debts you got us into looks." Urumi answered.

"But that means you have to move away for a year." He cried.

"I wouldn't have to if you could control yourself but I guess that's why I fell for you, you fool." She smiled.

"I know. I'm sorry. I promise I'll try harder." He tried to hug her but she moved away.

"I'm still mad at you." She stated firmly. "You better start helping me look for a cheap place to stay in the near Kanagawa Prefecture."

"I know, try the Tohsaka Inn. It's really cheap." Eikichi exclaimed.

"That's not my style, how about somewhere that's a little different." Urumi replied remembering his stories about the Tohsaka Inn.

"Yes ma'am, I'm going to go through every newspaper until I find a place suitable for you!" He declared.

"Thank you darling, but I'm still mad at you." She smiled. "I mean seriously, fifteen thousand yen on sushi."


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: The third chapter, as you may notice this chapter follows the canon story line of the manga with many changes. **

**Big thanks to JDesu for having beta-read this chapter. **

**XXXXX**

**Chapter 3**

Sunday at the Hinata House was greeted with an anxious feeling; the reason for this uneasiness was that it was Valentine's Day. Each of the girls in the house had acquired chocolate for their manager, not necessarily out of duty. The tense atmosphere was created when Su forced her chocolate down Keitaro's throat and Yamato joked about Su secretly liking Keitaro. This forced all the other girls to hold back giving Keitaro their chocolate because they didn't want to face the fact they may have feelings for their dorky manager.

It was around midday and Naru and Keitaro were both studying hard. Mutsumi was strangely absent but had called ahead to say that she would be late. Naru felt uncomfortable as she sat across from Keitaro. It was just the two of them alone in her room. In the morning she tried to peep into his room but found boards covering up the hole that joined their rooms. She didn't know why but that discovery felt like a sharp pain in her heart.

'I should give him my chocolate now.' Naru thought unable to concentrate on the book in front of her.

'Is there something on my face? Naru keeps glancing at me. Please God don't let there be breakfast on my face.' Keitaro worried.

The two continued to study in silence, neither one wanting to speak up. The red head kept thinking about Keitaro with Mutsumi and Keitaro kept thinking about why Naru would have followed them.

"So you just take the derivative of this equation and make it equal to the second equation and solve for X?" Keitaro asked breaking the tension.

"Eh, we're supposed to be studying Japanese history." Naru replied trying to be nice.

Keitaro looked across the table and saw the red head was indeed learning Japanese history while he was doing calculus.

"I'm sorry; I guess I kind of got distracted." Keitaro laughed. "Valentine's day has that affect on me."

"I see, so did you like Su's gift in the morning." Naru joked.

"I didn't get to taste the chocolate. She just crammed it down my throat." Keitaro laughed. "Guess this is going to be another year of giving myself homemade chocolate."

"You're living in a girls only dorm, don't you think somebody would make you some chocolate out of a sense of duty." Naru scolded.

"So does that mean that this year you're going to make me chocolate?" Keitaro asked hopefully.

"Why would I make you chocolate baka?" Naru shouted. "We've studied a lot already. We should take a break. Go get some rest in your room."

The red head hurried Keitaro out of the room. Once she was sure she heard Keitaro walk away she quickly ran to her closet. Inside of a small basket was a gift wrapped box. Inside the box was chocolate she had prepared late last night for Keitaro.

"Why am I suddenly feeling shy to give it to him?" She asked herself out.

"Give what to whom?" Mutsumi asked from behind Naru.

The watermelon loving girl was seated in Naru's room carrying a large box.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were going to come in later." Naru quickly hid her chocolate back in the cupboard.

"I was but I finished my chocolate much earlier than expected." Mutsumi held up her box.

"Is that chocolate for Keitaro?" Naru asked worried.

"Yes, I'm actually feeling kind of shy about giving it to him." Mutsumi blushed.

"So you really want to give them to Keitaro?" Naru mumbled.

"Naru, do you think I should give Keitaro the chocolate? I mean, is it okay with you?" Mutsumi asked for permission.

The red head was now red in the face and didn't know what to say and ended up stuttering. "W…w…why w…would I…I…I h…have a problem?"

"It's just that you and Keitaro are…" But before Mutsumi could finish her sentence Naru cut her off.

"Don't worry about it, there's nothing going on between us." Naru interrupted.

Mutsumi stared at the red head intently causing Naru to become uncomfortable. Naru tried to act normal but the intense gaze of Mutsumi was putting her under scrutiny. Naru's body almost began trembling as she wracked her brain trying to figure out why Mutsumi was staring at her. Naru had never seen Mutsumi so forced, not even when studying.

"Is everything okay?" Naru asked as her throat swelled.

"Oh I'm sorry, did you say something. I was daydreaming." Mutsumi blinked.

The red head collapsed comically into a heap.

XXXXX

The train leaving from the Hinata House to Tokyo was filled with couples enjoying Valentine's Day. An intense feeling of love in the air was disrupted by a void of mutual loathing. With the train full there were only two seats available for the high school students of the Hinata House who were going to school on Sunday for training in their respective sports.

"Seriously, why does it have to be you?" Yamato gritted his teeth.

"I heard that. You should learn to whisper more softly." Motoko said.

Yamato flinched but kept his composure. He tried to think about anything else beside the crazy sword wielding teenage girl next to him.

"You missed a few rocks in the onsen when you cleaned it." Motoko spoke.

"What did you say?" Yamato asked unsure if he heard correctly.

"Dim witted male, you didn't scrub some of the rocks when you cleaned the onsen yesterday." Motoko explained.

"Firstly, I don't appreciate the name calling and secondly, how can you even tell that I missed a few rocks." Yamato questioned a bit ticked off.

"I have a very fine eye for detail. Something you should aspire for." Motoko sneered.

"Maybe if you were a little bit nicer you wouldn't be spending Valentine's Day alone." Yamato retorted.

Motoko was caught off guard by the remark but tried her utmost to hide it. The kendo girl wanted to pull out her bokken but it was currently in her sport bags. The security guards were getting stricter and made her put her weapon away. Motoko could feel her hand tremble without her bokken in her grip. It was a strange sensation. It was almost as if was a drug addict who hadn't received her fix. She shook her head pushing out thoughts that her sword was her weakness.

"You shouldn't talk so much; I doubt a loser like you could have someone to spend Valentine's Day with." Motoko exclaimed.

"That's my own choice." Yamato yawned.

"What makes you think I want someone to spend Valentine's Day with?" Motoko questioned annoyed.

"I saw you throw a box of chocolates into the bin outside the house when I was sweeping. You were angry at someone." Yamato answered.

"You were spying on me!" She clenched her fist but held back.

"I wasn't spying." Yamato raised his voice defensively. "I was doing my chores and you were the one sneaking around the house."

Motoko gulped realizing she indeed was the one who was being suspicious in her actions during the morning. Years of martial training was used to avoid detection just to dispose of chocolates.

"I was embarrassed." Motoko admitted.

Yamato began looking around for the person who Motoko was now conversing with only to realize it was him.

"I tried making homemade chocolate but failed so I had to buy some from the store." Motoko explained.

Yamato felt uneasy sitting next to the samurai-wannabe who now seemed like an ordinary teenage girl.

"That's doesn't really matter. All that matters is the feelings behind it." Yamato tried to explain.

"Where do you get off talking about my feelings you pervert." Motoko said with her usual venom.

Yamato smirked; she seemed to be better now than a few minutes ago. But he'd be damned if he understood what was going on in her head.

"If you are going to be a champion, you must be willing to pay a greater price." Yamato declared.

"What on earth are you talking about?" Motoko acted uninterested.

"It was something my sempai back when I was a first year said. It was meant to inspire us to work harder." Yamato explained. "It also motivated us to train on the weekends."

"And why are you sharing this with me?" Motoko asked.

Yamato was started to get agitated by the girl's attitude as he was trying to be nice.

"I figured there's nothing wrong with a third year athlete trying to inspire a second year athlete." Yamato replied.

Motoko moped and ignored Yamato for the rest of the trip.

XXXXX

The Ronin Stones, the name Mutsumi decided for the study group of Naru, Keitaro and herself, were currently taking a break from studying. The three were currently occupying the living room, enjoying the cool breeze that was flowing into the house. As the three rested their weary selves the young cook of the house joined them.

"Sempai, here!" Shinobu exclaimed.

Keitaro was a bit stunned but realized she was just trying to hand him a bag of chocolates.

"Thanks Shinobu." Keitaro accepted the gift from the young girl.

"Try one sempai, I used your favorite milk chocolate to make them." Shinobu blushed.

Keitaro opened the bag and pulled out a small heart shaped white chocolate. He slowly ate the sweet treat and just like everything else the young chef prepared it was amazing. Keitaro resisted the urge to eat it all at once and ruin his appetite for dinner.

"These are amazing Shinobu. Almost as if they were made in a five star restaurant." Keitaro exclaimed.

"Thank you sempai." Shinobu blushed even redder than before. "I never made these before and I was hoping you would like them."

The young cook then dashed away as her cheeks burned more.

'Shinobu is so cute and straight forward, like an angel compared to me and she can cook.' Naru thought remembering her own chocolate that she made.

During Shinobu's presentation of chocolate Mutsumi made a run to the kitchen and returned carrying a plate with lid over it. When Keitaro turned to face her she presented him with the gift and removed the lid revealing a large chocolate heart with icing in the shape of a heart.

"This looks absolutely amazing." Keitaro marveled staring at the gift.

"Thanks, I've had years of experience making dummy gifts." Mutsumi admitted.

Keitaro cautiously tasted the gift expecting it to taste like watermelon. To his surprise it was delicious, even better than the chocolate Shinobu made. Keitaro this time couldn't control himself and devoured the entire thing.

"This is delicious." Keitaro got out between bites.

"Thanks, I was worried I used too much off the secret ingredient." Mutsumi smiled.

Naru just sat there watching Keitaro go through the chocolate only thinking about how pathetic the one she made was, soon she began to get lost in her own world of insecurities. She didn't even notice Keitaro had finished the chocolate and was trying to get her attention.

"I'm sorry." Naru apologized coming back to reality.

"Naru, you're someone all the girls look up to." Keitaro said sheepishly.

The red head nodded while Mutsumi sat there smiling.

"I placed an ad about the extra rooms here and I actually found a decent possible tenant. I was wondering if you could talk to the girls about a new girl joining us here." Keitaro explained.

As he spoke he could feel a burning sensation spread through his stomach and familiar feeling overcome his body.

"Mutsumi, what was the secret ingredient in your chocolate." Keitaro asked with a hiccup.

"It's a family secret but I suppose I can let you guys know, the secret ingredient is rum." Mutsumi revealed.

"Exactly how much extra did you use?" Naru asked as Keitaro's face turned red.

"Double." Mutsumi smiled not seeing the harm.

"I've never had rum before." Keitaro snickered.

"Ah man, Keitaro took some allergy medication just now, drugs and alcohol doesn't really mix. I've seen it before with Kitsune." Naru panicked.

"You look really cute Mutsumi." Keitaro moved closer towards the watermelon loving girl.

"Oh Kei-kun." Mutsumi blushed.

"Alright Casanova, that's enough." Naru grabbed Keitaro by his collar and pulled him away from Mutsumi.

The sharp tug from Naru, coupled with Keitaro's intoxication resulted in the bespectacled manager to spin around before crashing to the ground.

"This is just great. It doesn't look like he's going to get any learning done." Naru sighed.

"I'm so sorry Kei-kun, this is my fault. I'm such a ditz." Mutsumi ran to Keitaro and apologized.

Keitaro didn't respond and just lay there chuckling.

"We should get him to his room and then get some food in him." Naru suggested.

Mutsumi nodded. Slowly the two girls picked up Keitaro and dragged him to his room.

XXXXX

Tetsuhito Kinugasa was the track captain when Yamato first joined the team and even though he graduated and is attending Seijo University, he still comes to check on the high school track team. Kinugasa had pulled Yamato aside while everyone else was warming up.

"Is everything all right at home kid?" Kinugasa asked.

"I don't really know how to answer that." Yamato replied.

"So there is some truth to what Suzuka has been saying." Kinugasa sighed.

"What did she say?" Yamato questioned not liking the direction of the conversation.

"She said you were being a big coward by running away from the apartment building. People are starting to believe her; it's going to demotivate the team if they think the captain is a coward." Kinugasa explained.

"Damn it, she's twisting the facts to make it sound like I'm at fault. This is exactly why I left." Yamato cursed.

"You're going to have sort things out soon, like a real captain. I have faith in you." Kinugasa gave Yamato thumbs up.

"Don't worry cap, I'll talk to the team." Yamato reassured.

XXXXX

It was dinner time at the Hinata House and all the girl plus Yamato were gathered at the dinner table. Keitaro was currently out of action thanks to the rum filled chocolate he received from Mutsumi. Naru was looking for the chance to bring up the topic Keitaro mentioned before he succumbed to the effects of the alcohol laced treat.

"There sure are a lot of empty rooms in the house." Naru joked.

"I know it's great. Su and I have enough space to play." Sarah cheered.

"These empty rooms are the starting point in my quest to rule the world." Su laughed tried to imitate a villain she had seen on TV.

"I don't think those rooms are going to be empty for long." Naru mentioned earning stares from everyone at the table.

"Is sempai's cousin moving in permanently?" Shinobu asked innocently.

"So you're trying to weasel your way into the place after all." Motoko accused.

"No way, I have no idea what Narusegawa is talking about." Yamato rebutted.

"Having another guy around won't be so bad." Kitsune winked in Yamato's direction.

Naru then coughed loudly getting everyone's attention.

"I was talking about the possibility of another girl becoming a tenant of the dorm." Naru announced.

There was a hushed silence at the table. The girls were unsure about what to feel or think. They never expected any new tenants would come after Sarah. They were like a close knit family, a messed up one but still.

"Do you know who this girl is?" Naru asked Yamato.

Yamato shook his head. "Keitaro did mention it to me but he never gave me a name. All he said was that she was really smart."

"So sempai wants to replace us?" Shinobu panicked.

"No, where are you getting that from. Keitaro just found another person who needs a place to stay." Naru reassured.

"I guess we could use a new face around, things have been getting boring around here with only me trying to spice up the mood." Kitsune laughed.

"You're a month behind on your rent." Yamato spoke up.

"What are you talking about kid?" Kitsune tried to play innocent.

"I know something about running an apartment complex and I checked the books for Keitaro. Konno, you're a month behind and you still owe Keitaro for all those small loans he gave you." Yamato explained.

"What are you talking about? Those were cash gifts from Keitaro." Kitsune laughed it off.

"Maybe if you paid your rent on time and didn't bleed my cousin dry he wouldn't have to look for more tenants to cover the costs." Yamato continued.

"Listen here brat…" Kitsune started speaking but was cut off.

Motoko raised her hand and silenced the fox. "Don't argue with him. He may be a fool but he is right."

"What are you saying Motoko?" Kitsune asked.

"You should pay your rent on time like everyone else here. The money you borrowed from Urashima is something you need to sort out with him." Motoko explained.

"Thanks but you could have helped out without calling me a fool." Yamato tried smiling.

"I wasn't helping you, I was merely thinking about the house." Motoko sneered.

"I'm sure Keitaro will explain everything to everyone as soon as he is feeling better." Naru calmed down the mood. "And seriously Kitsune, pay your rent."

"I guess we're not going to be able to play in the spare room anymore." Sarah said dejected.

"We'll still be able to play if this new tenant meets an unfortunate accident before she moves in." Su snickered.

The entire table froze in horror at the foreign girl's remark; she was just crazy enough to do something like that.

"No one will be meeting any unfortunate accidents!" Motoko declared eyeing Su. The genius youngster nodded in response.

XXXXX

"How are you feeling?" Naru asked as she cautiously entered Keitaro's room.

"My head is killing me." Keitaro complained.

"Well, that's what happens when you get too greedy." Naru chuckled.

Keitaro felt around his futon but couldn't find his glasses so he decided to stay in bed and not get up.

"I'm feeling even worse about not being able to study. I'm going to fall behind and drag the rest of the group down." Keitaro moaned.

"Don't worry about it; we'll help you catch up." Naru assured.

"Thanks Mutsumi, you're really great. Naru would have probably shouted at me and told me to man up." Keitaro laughed.

Naru's mind almost stopped functioning. He thought she was Mutsumi, was the idea of her being nice to him so outlandish. Naru didn't want to but something inside her pushed her to take advantage of the situation. It's not like she would ever get the opportunity to talk Keitaro while he was inhibited again.

"So Kei-kun, what do you really think about Naru?" She asked trying to sound like Mutsumi.

"Naru is Naru; she's the girl I can't stop thinking about. Or I couldn't stop thinking. She seems to be getting angrier everyday with me. I think she may hate me but I don't know. She's like a tsundere with more tsuntsun and less deredere." Keitaro confessed before dozing off.

Naru just stood in the room shocked and horrified. She wanted to say something but didn't know what. Had she become so bad, had her actions turned her into a monster? Then slowly she started remembering all the times she sent Keitaro flying with a Naru punch, most of the incidents were just accidents or Kitsune playing a cruel joke or Su and Sarah getting Keitaro into trouble. A sickening feeling of guilt caused her stomach to knot up in pain. As if her sheltered world was falling apart she could she a faceless woman stealing Keitaro away from her. She figured in her own disillusionment that no matter what she put Keitaro through he'll still love her but she was wrong.

As she stood just thinking the door to the room opened and Yamato walked in.

"I'm sorry; I didn't hear anything so I thought you left. I didn't know you were still talking." Yamato was about to leave when he saw Keitaro was fast asleep.

Naru didn't respond and just turned to leave.

"It's okay, if you want to watch him sleep. I can leave and come back later." Yamato joked.

Naru turned and cocked back her right hand instinctively but never delivered the punch. Instead she left. Yamato stood frozen, he was expecting to get decked but he could breathe a sigh of relief.

"Yo, cousin." Yamato called out.

"My aching head." Keitaro moaned.

"You're such a light weight." Yamato mocked.

"Alcohol, medication and I don't go well together." Keitaro groaned.

"I don't mean that, I'm talking about how you let Konno take advantage of you and not pay her rent." Yamato explained. "No wonder everybody's worried about you. You're letting these girls run free all over you."

"That is complete nonsense." Keitaro coughed.

"When was the last time you told them to do something as manager and they listened to you?" Yamato asked.

Keitaro remained silent as he tried to remember.

XXXXX

Naru and Mutsumi were both preparing for bed in the red heads room. Mutsumi's room was currently being renovated and Naru decided to it would better if Mutsumi stayed with her instead of one of the empty rooms.

Both the girls lay in their futons looking up at the roof. A small lamp between them gave some light to the dark room.

"I hope you don't mind me staying here." Mutsumi asked noticing the distant look on Naru's face.

"It's no problem; my mind is just focused on something else at the moment." Naru confessed.

"Are you upset because you didn't give Kei-kun the chocolate you made?" Mutsumi teased.

"I wish it was that simple." Naru snickered.

"Why, did something happen between the two of you." Mutsumi asked worried.

"I don't want to talk about it." Naru rolled over.

"You can tell me, I might be able to help." Mutsumi sat up.

"You can't help me, there's no way you can help me." Naru said bitterly.

"Are you angry with me because my chocolate got Kei-kun drunk?" Mutsumi asked depressed.

"It's not that, it's just that he said something." Naru admitted.

"Did he say that he loved you?" Mutsumi felt herself get excited and sad at the same time.

"Not exactly, it was more the opposite." Naru almost cried.

"I don't understand." Mutsumi cocked her head sideways.

"He practically said he hates the person I am. He hates my short temper, he hates my bossiness, and he hates me." Naru professed.

"There's no way that Kei-kun hates you. It must have been the rum from my chocolate, this is entirely my fault." Mutsumi sobbed.

"No, the only thing you did was let him be honest with me. He would have never told me how he felt under normal circumstances." Naru cried.

"Don't cry Naru, you must have misheard what he said." Mutsumi tried to convince the red head.

"No, I'm sure about what I heard. I need to change; if I don't change he'll hate me forever." Naru reasoned.

Mutsumi wanted to say something but then she thought about all the times that Naru punched and hurt Keitaro. Maybe Naru changing wasn't such a bad thing. Things could actually work out for everyone.

**XXXXX**

**AN: Some of you are wondering where the GTO characters are, don't worry they will be making their appearances soon. **

**The Hinata House has some empty rooms that have been advertised. I'm open to suggestions of other anime/manga characters who would take up residence in the Hinata. **

**Thanks for reading. **


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Sorry for not updating on Sunday, my internet service provider was down. Here's the next chapter and Happy New Year to everybody. **

**XXXXXX**

**Chapter 4**

Keitaro walked around the house with a slight head ache. He had pretty much slept off the effects of the rum and avoided a serious hangover. He was surprised by the absence of Naru and Mutsumi from the breakfast table but figured they were using every minute to study with only ten days till the Todai entrance exam.

"Are you feeling better sempai?" Shinobu asked as she dished him a bowl of rice.

"A lot better, thank you Shinobu." Keitaro began eating slowly.

"This is really delicious." Yamato said in-between mouthfuls.

"Thank you…" Shinobu blushed.

"Shouldn't you be done by now. You're going to miss your train; you are such a pathetic slacker." Motoko sneered as she got up.

Yamato almost choked on his food as he gobbled it down and dashed out the house.

With Yamato and Motoko gone, Kitsune decided she would implement her plan to get Keitaro to forget about her overdue rent. The out of work writer opened a few buttons on her shirt to reveal some her bra and cleavage as she hoped to seduce the manager.

"Kei-kun is it me or is it really hot in here." Kitsune complained as she fanned her chest.

Shinobu's face turned bright red as she saw the fox's actions. Su and Sarah were too busy planning something secret to notice while Keitaro's face was heating up to the point where blood was close to flowing out of his nose.

"I didn't notice." Keitaro turned away from Kitsune.

Kitsune smirked as she realized she was making inroads. "Kei-kun, if you wouldn't mind could you please come to my room to fix my window. I completely forgot to ask your cousin while he was here."

Keitaro just nodded as Kitsune got up and went to her room.

"Sempai, don't go." Shinobu finally spoke up.

"Huh?" Keitaro said snapping back into reality.

"I don't like the way she was acting, I think she's up to something." Shinobu mumbled.

"I didn't catch that." Keitaro couldn't hear the young cook.

"I think Mitsune-sempai might be planning something." Shinobu said.

"You might be right, but as the manager I have to check it out." Keitaro sighed.

"I think it has something to do with her rent. Last night everyone was telling her that she should pay her rent on time." Shinobu filled the manager in.

"They actually said that." Keitaro tried picturing how Kitsune reacted last night.

"Sempai, are you tired of us?" Shinobu asked.

"Why would you say that?" Keitaro responded dumbfounded.

"Naru mentioned that you were getting new tenants." Shinobu explained the cause of her concern.

"One new girl doesn't mean I'm planning on getting rid of you girls." Keitaro chuckled. "Besides, you'll always have a home here. If you weren't here, we'd starve."

The young chef began blushing and then ran away leaving Keitaro with Su and Sarah. The two pranksters were finishing up the final touches on their plan.

"Hey dork, when's this new girl going to get here?" Sarah yelled.

Keitaro thought hard as he tried to recall. "She should be here by tomorrow."

"That doesn't give us a lot of time to complete our plan." Su exclaimed.

"What are you two planning?" Keitaro questioned worried.

"That's none of your business dork." Sarah screamed running away.

"It is top secret classified." Su laughed as she followed the blonde American.

XXXXX

For the second day in a row Motoko and Yamato ended up sitting next to each other on the train but this time Motoko had her kendo fan club with her in the form of two middle school girls.

"You were so great in practice yesterday!" The first girl, Miko exclaimed.

"You're the greatest ever senpai!" The other fan-girl, Tae squealed.

Motoko remained silent as the two girls praised her and her skills.

"Excuse me Aoyama; do you know if there's a train back to Hinata after six?" Yamato asked remembering that he had a lot of administration work to do after track.

Before Motoko could answer the question her two fans spoke up.

"Who do you think you are speaking to our senpai like that?" Miko interrupted.

"I'm so sick of guys trying to hit on senpai." Tae accused.

"Train perverts are getting younger and younger." Miko sneered.

Yamato couldn't believe it. This was worse than being with Suzuka and Saki. He was about to say something but then saw Motoko was going to speak. He was expecting her to add to the fire.

Motoko sat between the girls and Yamato and heard their baseless accusation of Yamato being a pervert. A realization hit her, that's exactly how she sounded every time she accused Keitaro of being a pervert.

"He was just asking me about the train schedule, nothing perverted about that. You should apologize." Motoko said shocking everyone including herself.

"What are you talking about senpai?" Miko was almost in tears.

Yamato was slightly taken back and amazed. Back when he lived with Suzuka and his aunt no one ever said anything in his defense except for Miho. He never expected the kendo girl to do so. For the rest of the train ride he sat back and listened to the two girls try to convince Motoko that all men were perverts and bad. He started to understand why she was so cold towards him and his cousin.

XXXXX

Keitaro knocked on Kitsune's room, his mind playing out dozens of scenarios in which the fox was trying to get money from him. He was mentally preparing himself to be strong against anything she could throw at him.

Kitsune walked up to the door wearing nothing but a long shirt over her underwear. The shirt itself was almost skin-tight as to show off her fully figured body. She already had her devious plan in mind. She opened the door and stood their trying to look as innocent as possible.

"I hope you don't mind. Most of my clothes are in the laundry." Kitsune said in the sweetest possible voice.

Even though Keitaro mentally prepared himself he was still nervous. "So where's this window?"

"Over there." She raised her arm to point, lifting up the shirt just enough to show some of her panty.

Keitaro caught a glimpse and almost fell into the trap but held his nerve. Kitsune could sense victory and decided to kick it up a gear.

She strutted over to her bed and took a pose very similar to that of Kate Winslet in titanic as she prepared to watch Keitaro work.

"You don't have to watch me." Keitaro said feverously.

"You don't expect me to walk around the house like this." She gestured to her body. "Besides, this is my room. I have to make sure you don't do anything perverted."

'Me doing something perverted, you should take a look in the mirror.' Keitaro thought.

After removing and replacing the hinges on the window it began working again. Keitaro wondered how the hinge got so rusty; it was almost as if someone had sprayed salt water on them. He suspected Kitsune but pushed the thought out of his mind.

"Thank you so much Kei-kun." Kitsune walked up to him and hugged him.

"It's my job." Keitaro tried to free himself but Kitsune was surprisingly stronger than him.

'I've got him.' Kitsune smirked in her mind's eye.

"Please Kei-kun, can we talk about rent. I'm having cash flow problems but I'm sure we can come to some other arrangement." Kitsune pressed her chest against his.

"So you're going to sell your body for two months worth of rent." Keitaro said without thinking.

Kitsune was stunned by the statement as well was Keitaro.

"Are you calling me a whore?" Kitsune barked.

Keitaro wanted to apologize for what he said but instead something else came out of his mouth. "If the shoe fits."

Kitsune pushed Keitaro away and felt bitter.

"It's not like I make these kinds of offers to every guy I meet, you're special Kei-kun." Kitsune feigned tears.

"I'm just as special as the delivery-guy from yesterday who brought your sake." Keitaro smirked.

On the outside of the room Shinobu had her ear pressed against the door listening intently. The sound of a hand smacking across flesh was followed by footsteps. Shinobu ducked and ran down the hall before the door opened and Keitaro walked out with a red cheek and a little blood leaking from one nostril. Even though he was hurt he had a smirk on his face.

XXXXX

Yamato stood in front of the entire athletic team about to address them. Suzuka remained at the back of the group, angry and mad at Yamato. Miki tried to drag Suzuka to the front but couldn't. There were two people who weren't part of the track team who were present, Yasunobu and Honoka.

"Listen up people; I've been hearing a lot of rumors lately and not the rumors that Kinugasa-senpai hides behind trees to secretly watch us at track meets." Yamato tried opening with a joke.

The older members laughed while the younger one chuckled out of a sense of duty. Suzuka remained stone faced, unwilling to show any emotion.

"Well basically, someone has been calling into question my ability to be your captain." Yamato said.

"How can we trust you to be our captain if you're a coward?" Suzuka called out from the back.

"Where I live doesn't affect my ability to lead. Granted, I live further away now but I get up earlier to come to school and go home later to make practice." Yamato retorted.

"You just ran away when things got tough." Suzuka declared.

"Since you want to bring up personal matters up, I will." Yamato responded. "It wasn't that things just suddenly got tough, it's that things were always tough. I couldn't stand living like that."

Whispering began amongst the team. From what Yamato could hear, it was sounding like they didn't see his point.

"Listen up!" Yasunobu shouted. "I may not be part of the team but I've attended more practices than most of you. Yamato is your leader. He organizes everything, single handedly so you don't have to worry about anything. I've never seen him put a single one of you down; he has only ever had positive words for you people. When funds were going to be cut and the team was going to be downsized, he stepped up and took on the PTO. He was hopelessly out gunned by the student council but didn't give up and kept your funding intact. He has mentored many of you from fringe athletes to first team picks."

Many off the athletes began to feel bad for doubting Yamato while some of them walked off with Suzuka. Yamato couldn't deny that if anyone could be recognized as an unofficial co-captain it would be Suzuka. The bad blood between them had opened up a divide amongst the team.

XXXXX

At the Asahi Heights Bath House, Ayano could barely keep her eyes open as she prepared dinner. She hadn't been able to get a good night's sleep since Yamato ran away. It took her some time to realize that she wasn't right in the way she treated him.

Just then Miho came running into the house waving a piece of paper. The young girl shoved the paper into her mother's hand.

"What is this?" Ayano asked.

"It's the number to the place Yamato is staying at." Miho answered.

"How did you get it?" Ayano questioned shocked.

"Yamato was giving the number to another sempai, Soichi Miyamoto after the team talk, and I overheard." Miho replied. "I know eavesdropping is bad but I was worried about him."

Ayano picked up her house phone and began dialing the number. The phone rang several times and just as she was about to cut the call someone answered.

"HELLO, Hinata House!" The receiver exclaimed. "Su, chief of the turtle capture squad speaking."

Ayano was a shocked by the loud response but calmed herself. "Hello, my name is Ayano Fujikawa. May I please speak to the owner of the house?"

"Hmmm." The person on the other end of the line mumbled. "Granny hasn't been here for a long time."

Before Ayano could respond she heard the sound of people struggling for control of the phone and this time a new person was on the other end.

"Sorry about that. Keitaro Urashima, manager of the Hinata House speaking."

"Keitaro-kun, it's me Ayano, Ayano Fujikawa." Ayano greeted.

"Oh, Aunt Ayano." Keitaro responded casually.

"I was wondering if I could speak to Yamato." Ayano requested.

"I'm sorry; he isn't home at the moment." Keitaro replied.

"Oh…" Ayano muttered.

"If that's all." Keitaro prepared to cut the call.

"No wait, I want to talk to you." Ayano called out. "Please tell Yamato to come back. I'm sorry for how we treated him. We'll do better."

"I don't think I can do that. He has to decide himself. Besides, his parents are coming to check up on him in a week." Keitaro responded.

With that Keitaro cut the call. Ayano placed the phone down and went back to cooking.

"What did he say mum? Is he going to tell Yamato to come back home?" Miho asked hopingly.

Ayano just shook her head as she stirred the pot of curry.

XXXXX

The after six o' clock train back to Hinata was practically empty with only a few on it. Yamato wasn't quite sure but for some reason Motoko was also on the train. She was seated two spaces away from him.

"I didn't know you were finishing late too." Yamato tried to talk to her.

"I didn't know either. It just happened." Motoko responded.

"So you also had paperwork to complete for your athletic team?" Yamato asked.

"No, I was just training so hard I lost track of time." Motoko responded.

"Well, I was filling in forms about who would be competing at the next track meet. It's really a lot of work, I have to check and make sure everyone I picked is passing. If not, I can't pick them." Yamato continued hoping it would spark a conversation.

"I see." Motoko nodded much to Yamato's disappointment but he wasn't deterred.

"So what happened to your small fan club?" Yamato questioned.

"Don't know, don't care." Motoko answered.

"Aren't they your friends?" Yamato was a bit surprised by the cold answer.

"They aren't my friends. They just like to hang around me so they can tell people they know the big, strong kendo girl." Motoko answered this time with emotion in her voice.

"Oh, I didn't know." Yamato nodded trying to sound sympathetic. "Who needs friends like that in high school?"

"Who needs friends in high school at all?" Motoko mumbled.

It was soft but he heard it, he wanted to ask her about it then his mind stopped him and warned him about speaking about sensitive topics with her. She would probably accuse him of trying to make her vulnerable and take advantage of her.

"Do you like croquettes, I love them. I know this convenience store that makes the best croquettes ever." Yamato laughed.

He mentally faced palmed himself, he couldn't believe he went with the croquette. For some reason his mind went back to eating them at the shrine and he just spoke without thinking.

"I guess you don't have a bad taste in food." Motoko replied uninterested. "However, I doubt your convenience store makes the best ones. The best ones are from a small korokke shop near our dojo."

"That sounds like a challenge between croquette connoisseurs." Yamato grinned.

"I wouldn't call anything between us a challenge because I would win hands down." Motoko responded.

"I think I would beat you in race." Yamato snickered.

"That shouldn't count. That would be the equivalent to you and I having a kendo match." Motoko countered.

"A very valid point and one that makes a lot of sense." Yamato shuddered at the thought of going up against Motoko in a kendo match.

XXXXX

Everyone was gathered at the dinner table ready for supper. There was an uneasy tension in the air. Kitsune was fuming at Keitaro while Naru was colder than winter towards the manager. He tried to ignore it and carrying on with dinner. Dinner wasn't ready as yet and Shinobu had told them that but as usual no one paid heed to her and they were all gathered there. The young chef estimated that the food still needed to be cooked for ten more minutes.

"So how was everybody's day?" Keitaro asked hoping to lighten the mood.

Kitsune glared at Keitaro while Naru stared at her empty plate. Keitaro knew he wouldn't be getting anything from them so he turned to Yamato hoping his cousin would say something.

"My day was good. I ended up doing a ton of paperwork but that's just a captain's responsibility." Yamato laughed nervously.

Shinobu decided to speak up. "My day was fine. I learnt some new recipes."

"Yay!" Su and Sarah cheered.

"I guess I could say that my day was adequate." Motoko stated.

Keitaro sighed as he failed to ease the mood. He decided that now would be the best time to tell everyone about the new tenant.

"Listen up everyone, I have an important announcement." Keitaro spoke up.

Only Shinobu, Yamato and Motoko gave him their attention. Kitsune was pissed and Naru distant. Su and Sarah were busy scheming. Motoko gave the two youngsters a stern look and they fell in line.

"I'm sure you all heard about the new tenant that's coming. Her name is Urumi Kanzaki and she …" Keitaro was about to finish but stopped when he heard Naru choking.

"Did you say Urumi Kanzaki?" Naru asked stunned.

"Yeah, do you know her?" Keitaro questioned.

"The year before I got the number one mock test score, she had the number one score. She's a true genius." Naru explained thinking back. "I met her once."

"That's great; at least she'll have a friend here." Keitaro smirked.

"So is she smarter than you?" Sarah asked.

Naru felt like a ton of bricks hit her and nodded.

"This Urumi Kanzaki must be really smart if Naru-sempai says that." Shinobu said impressed.

"I guess you're going to have to prepare an extra plate." Yamato joked with the young chef.

"She's already preparing an extra plate for you freeloader." Motoko pointed out.

"That hurts, I'm not a freeloader. I work more than my fair share." Yamato responded.

Kitsune had enough and left. "You can bring my food to my room Shinobu."

'I guess she's really upset. Maybe I went too far. No I went far enough.' Keitaro thought.

"Is she sick?" Shinobu asked.

"I don't think so." Naru answered. "She seems like she has a lot on her mind."

The atmosphere at the dinner table was dull and dreary with no one really wanting to brighten it up. Keitaro was looking to his cousin to say something but Yamato seemed more intent on getting to bed and resting.

Then almost as if his prayers had been answered there was a series of knocks on the Hinata House front door. Keitaro got up followed by his cousin and the two made their way to the door practically sprinting.

There they found a young blonde woman wearing a formal business suit with a few bags.

"Urumi?" Keitaro asked confused.

"Oh Thank God you're here. I've been calling for hours to say I'd be arriving early. I was thought no one was around." Urumi heaved a sigh of relief.

"I'll check the phone." Yamato said as he left.

"Please come in, let me help you with your bags." Keitaro realized he was blocking the door way.

"Thank you." Urumi said as she let him carry the lighter bags.

Keitaro carried the bags to the common room so that Urumi could have a seat. He could tell her legs were tired from the heels she was wearing.

"I found the problem; whoever used the phone last didn't put it back on the receiver properly." Yamato said returning.

They were soon joined by Motoko, Naru and Shinobu.

"Hello everyone, my name is Urumi Kanzaki. I'll be staying at this dorm from now on." Urumi greeted with a bow.

"Welcome." Motoko said formerly.

"It's nice to have you." Shinobu smiled.

Naru didn't say anything feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Naru Narusegawa, is that you?" Urumi asked recognizing the red head.

"Hey Urumi, it's been a while." Naru waved timidly.

"I heard you were around the Kanagawa Prefecture but to think we would end up living in the same dorm." Urumi said happily.

Motoko turned and left realizing she had nothing to add.

"Urumi-sempai, you must be hungry. Please join us for dinner." Shinobu offered.

"You're sweet, I'd love to." Urumi smiled.

Shinobu then left to go set an extra place at the dinner table.

"Why don't we get you set up in your room?" Yamato suggested. "I guess it's a good thing I got your room ready ahead of schedule."

"That would be great. And again sorry for dropping in early, it's just that an emergency came up that forced me to get here before the day we agreed." Urumi apologized.

"It's no problem, please come this way." Keitaro led the way.

XXXXX

Dinner had gone by almost in complete silence with nobody really wanting to say anything. Everyone had left and Shinobu was cleaning up the dinner table.

"Hey kid, what are you doing?" Urumi asked.

"I'm cleaning up." Shinobu replied.

"I know but why?" Urumi questioned a bit surprised.

"I guess because it's my responsibility." Shinobu mumbled.

"I'm pretty sure I heard someone say you made a wonderful meal, so does that mean you cooked today?" Urumi continued with her line of questioning.

"I cook all the meals here and I clean up afterwards." Shinobu admitted.

"That's a bit ridiculous. How can they expect you to do so much?" Urumi said shocked.

"I don't really pay rent so I do this to cover my room and board." Shinobu said meekly.

"You prepared a five star meal tonight. I think if you prepare meals like that every day that should more than cover any cost." Urumi stated. The blonde was getting a strong feeling that this girl was being taken advantage off.

"I know but everyone's busy so I take care of this." Shinobu replied.

"That's no excuse. I saw that Motoko girl and Yamato boy clean up after themselves." Urumi noted. "I also saw you take a meal upstairs before you began eating."

"Well Motoko-sempai says that a samurai must clean up their own messes and Yamato is like me, his staying here for only a week and helping Keitaro-sempai with house duties." Shinobu explained.

"And what about the meal you took stairs." Urumi reminded.

"That was for Mitsune, she wasn't feeling well." Shinobu added.

"So tell me kid, what else do you do around here?" Urumi questioned.

"Not much really." Shinobu lied.

Urumi saw the youngster sweat and fidget and knew she was lying.

"You don't have to lie to me; you can be honest with me. I just want to know if everyone's taking advantage of your kindness." Urumi kneeled down and looked Shinobu in her eyes to reinsure her.

"Your eyes are different." Shinobu remarked.

"I know, I'm a heterochromatic." Urumi smiled.

"I also do the girls laundries expect for Motoko. She likes things done a certain way that I can't do." Shinobu admitted.

"So that's Naru's, the two blondes and Mitsune." Urumi tried to confirm.

"Yeah, but I'm fine doing this work because I don't pay rent." Shinobu squeaked.

"Do you feel fine?" Urumi inquired.

"Why are you asking me so many questions?" Shinobu responded.

"I guess this is a habit that I picked up from my boyfriend. Whenever he sees someone in trouble, he'll do everything he can to help them out even if there's nothing for him to gain from it. And that happens to be one of reasons why his broke and I had to move here for work." Urumi explained with a smile.

"You have a boyfriend?" Shinobu looked at Urumi.

"Yes I do. He is a great guy with enough cons to match his pros but I still love him." Urumi answered.

"That must be nice, having someone who cares about you." Shinobu mumbled.

"You're still a bit young for a serious boyfriend." Urumi joked.

"I'm not talking about that." Shinobu laughed. "I mean having someone who will worry about me and how I feel."

"I'm sure your parents do." Urumi said.

"My parents are currently in a bitter divorce and only see me as a pawn. My mum wants me so my dad has to pay child support. My dad wants me so he doesn't have to pay. That's why I'm here." Shinobu confessed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know. I'll ask you again." Urumi hugged the young girl. "Do you feel fine doing all this?"

"I would be okay with it because I'm good at it if they showed me some appreciation. They hardly ever thank me." Shinobu sobbed.

"What's your favourite food?" Urumi asked.

"Huh, I don't understand." Shinobu stared blankly.

"You seem like the type of person who prepares everyone else's favorites except your own. So tomorrow I'll help you prepare your favourite meal." Urumi smiled.

"Why are you being so nice to me when you just got here?" Shinobu asked.

"You sort of remind me of myself when I was younger, Surrounded by people but still lonely." Urumi admitted.

"Before my parents started hating each other we would eat Shabu Shabu as family every Friday no matter how busy we were." Shinobu smiled.

"Then Shabu Shabu it is but truthfully my culinary skills falter when compared to yours so you'll be in charge and I'll be your assistant." Urumi said wiping away a tear from Shinobu's eye.

"Thank you." Shinobu said as she wiped away the rest of her tears.

"Don't thank me yet kid, we still have to get everyone to see how valuable you are here and how much they should really be appreciating you." Urumi smirked.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Keitaro sighed heavily as he swept the Hinata House porch. There was really no reason for him to be doing this since Yamato had already done it but Keitaro had this empty feeling and needed something to do.

Two things were weighing on his mind. The first was Shinobu. The young chef abandoned her usual routine of preparing a large breakfast for everyone and just made toast. Keitaro wasn't sure if she was feeling unwell or maybe it was something else.

The second was Naru. It was approaching lunch time and he hadn't spoken with Naru since last night. The red head effectively ended the group study sessions and the Ronin Stones were now all solo artists.

Keitaro had been studying non-stop and now was taking a break. His eyes were tired so he removed his glasses and closed his heavy eyelids as he swept.

The broom barely made contact with the ground as he just moved his arms trying clear his mind. As he went about his attempt to find peace he heard the sound of footsteps coming up the long Hinata stair case, from what Keitaro could tell there was two of them. The footsteps were joined with voices, female voices that complained about the number of stairs. Keitaro couldn't help but laugh.

The manager put on his glasses as he prepared to greet the visitors that had walked up the stairs. When they came into focus he could see two very beautiful girls staring at him. The first had long blonde hair and her skin was lightly tanned. She wore a lime green sleeveless top and jeans. The second was a brunette with shoulder length hair and glasses. She had an orange shirt and a knee length skirt.

"Hey you!" The blonde yelled.

Keitaro looked around before pointing to himself.

"Yes, you." The blonde continued.

"Be nicer, he might be able to help us." The brunette whispered.

The two girls approached Keitaro while checking out the building behind him.

"Hi, my name is Megumi Matsumoto and this is my friend Yuka Saotome." The brunette introduced.

"Hello, I'm Keitaro Urashima. How may I help you?" He asked.

"Do you work here?" Yuka cut straight to the point.

Keitaro thought about how he should answer the question but was weary that these girls might be up to something so he decided to hide the fact he was the owner/manager. "You could say that."

"I really hope you could help us. We're looking for a friend of ours." Megumi explained.

"His name is Yamato Akitsuki and he is supposed to be staying here." Yuka eyed Keitaro.

"Maybe he is, maybe he isn't. Who wants to know?" Keitaro asked feeling unusually brave.

"So he is here!" Yuka shouted.

"We just want to talk to him. Please let us in or you could tell him to meet us here." Megumi pleaded.

"Yamato isn't here. It's a school day." Keitaro replied.

The two girls then looked at each feeling embarrassed.

"Can we wait for him here?" Yuka asked.

"No, I don't think he would want to see you." Keitaro answered.

"Where do you get off saying that?" Yuka yelled.

"I don't think he wants to talk to anyone from his aunt's bath house. I'm certain you're here to take him back." Keitaro responded.

"And you would be right; Yamato should come back with us. We're willing to forgive him for being so rash." Yuka countered.

"You're willing to forgive him?" Keitaro said almost stunned.

"Yes, he hurt us when he did that. He just ran away like that. We've been so worried." Yuka explained.

"I think you should leave. You might think you're doing what's best for Yamato but you're not." Keitaro said firmly.

"What makes you think you know what's best for him?" Yuka questioned annoyed.

"I'm his cousin and I don't constantly belittle him and put him down just for the fun of it." Keitaro answered.

"Ayano took care of him all this time and he just ran away so ungratefully." Yuka scoffed.

"Aunt Ayano treats her residents more like family than him. I know that situation all too well. I won't say it again. You're on private property and you should leave." Keitaro warned.

Megumi remained quite the whole time and decided they weren't going to get anywhere and dragged Yuka away.

XXXXX

Kitsune was bored and wandering the halls of the Hinata. Normally she would have fun by messing with Keitaro but now that the manager had somehow grown a backbone she wasn't going to try her luck. The sake addict was stationed outside Naru's room listening through the door. She kept hearing the sound of a pencil breaking and then Naru furiously sharpening it.

Kitsune opened the door and found the room littered with paper everywhere. Naru's eyes had heavy bags under them; the red head was burning herself out with all her studying.

"Oh, Hey Kitsune." Naru greeted groggily.

"Are you okay Naru?" Kitsune asked as she ventured into the room.

"I'm perfectly well, in fact I'm healthy, fighting fit and thriving." Naru answered.

"You don't look any of those. Have you slept at all?" Kitsune questioned worried.

"I can't afford to sleep, I need to study. I have to study and pass so I can get into Todai." Naru replied.

"You can study all you want but if your body fails you, then how are you going to write the entrance exam." Kitsune pointed out.

"I'll be fine. There's nothing wrong with me." Naru chuckled.

"Naru, I've known you for a long time. You only lose yourself like this in your books when you're deeply upset. The last time was when Seta left suddenly. Tell me what happened." Kitsune sat down next to her friend.

"There's nothing wrong. Why would you think something is wrong?" Naru denied any problems.

"Well, you've been spending all your time in your room and avoiding everyone. Something is wrong. You better tell me or I will force it out of you." Kitsune threatened.

"I don't know what else to do but bury myself in my books. In my books everything makes sense, I don't have to worry about people and their stupid feelings or how they feel about me." Naru sneered.

"This has something to do with Keitaro, doesn't it?" Kitsune was about to blow a gasket.

"Maybe, that dumb jerk likes Mutsumi better than me. How could he? After all that time he spent pursuing me, such an idiot." Naru cursed as she drifted to sleep.

"So that's it." Kitsune mused as she rubbed Naru's back. "You're just jealous"

XXXXX

Shinobu walked through the market area searching for ingredients for supper. School was done and she wanted to do all her shopping before heading home. She was intent on finding the right ingredients to prepare a certain dish. She was planning on making Shabu Shabu, which was her favorite meal.

The diminutive chef had never actually prepared a meal that was her favorite for as long as she had stayed at the Hinata House and she decided to do something about that. After her talk with Urumi last night, she was feeling a lot better.

As she wandered through the market she found Su and Sarah also there.

"What are you two doing here?" Shinobu questioned.

The two blondes quickly tried to conceal the contents of their basket.

"We're not doing anything, we're just browsing." Sarah smiled.

"We're completely innocent; we're not buying fruits to see which would explode easiest when dropped on Keitaro." Su laughed.

"So you're going to drop fruits on Keitaro's head." Shinobu yelled.

"How did you find out?" Su asked.

"This is all in the name of science. We're scientists." Sarah declared.

"No you're not. You're just two people who like to hurt sempai." Shinobu sighed.

"That's just collateral damage in the advancement of science." Sarah laughed it off.

"Let me see what you have there." Shinobu pulled the basket away from Sarah.

"Don't worry so much Shinobu. These fruit are harmless." Su exclaimed.

"Let's see; a kiwi, a squash, a coconut, a watermelon and canned peaches." Shinobu listed as she went through the basket.

"Just like I said, completely harmless." Su laughed.

"You expect me to believe that? You could seriously hurt sempai with these and not to mention kill him with the canned peaches." Shinobu warned.

"They were out of regular peaches." Sarah shrugged her shoulders.

"You better not go through with this stunt." Shinobu ordered feeling a sense of bravery she never had before.

"What are you talking about Shinobu? This doesn't sound like you." Su said.

"Well, you might be right but I'm going to have to put my foot down and say you can't do this." Shinobu stated meekly.

"Whatever you say." Sarah chuckled.

"We won't do anything." Su laughed as the two blondes ran away.

'What happened to me? I sounded so cool and strong and then I ended up sounding like a baby. That's why nobody listens to me.' Shinobu thought as she went to buy the rest of her ingredients.

XXXXX

Yamato splashed the cold water onto his face as it ran out of the tap. He was exhausted after the training session today. With people beginning to doubt his leadership he had to do more than normal to prove them wrong. It worked well as it erased most of the skepticism about his ability to lead the track team. He was on the isolated end of the sports field, he used the taps here because no one ever did and that meant there was no one to talk to.

He rarely saw Suzuka or Miki, which was expected as they were avoiding each other. Yamato dried his face and walked towards the dressing room to get his stuff. As he tried to leave someone grabbed his arm and held it. It was a gentle tug, just enough to stop him.

"Sakurai?" Yamato said surprised.

"Hi Akitsuki, it's been a while since we've spoken." Honoka smiled.

"I'm sorry but I just didn't want you trying to talk me into going back." Yamato explained.

"So that's why you've been avoiding me." Honoka sighed.

"I don't think I'll ever be going back there." Yamato admitted.

"What are you talking about?" Honoka asked surprised. "What will you do?"

"If I can find a place to stay till I graduate and get the Todai scholarship everything will work out. I hear Todai helps athletes find accommodation near the university so that it's easier for them to train." Yamato clarified.

"So you have no intention of returning to stay with Suzuka and the others." Honoka questioned.

"I'm not a masochist for emotional punishment." Yamato laughed.

"They miss you a lot. I even heard Suzuka crying in the girl's change room." Honoka shared.

"I can't seem to imagine that Suzuka would cry over me. Must have been something else." Yamato theorized.

"Is that what you're telling yourself? That no one cares about." Honoka accused.

"It's true enough. Aunt Ayano, Suzuka, Saki and even Miho can only see what a failure I am. That doesn't need much interpretation." Yamato stated coldly.

"I care about you." Honoka shouted.

"You care about me?" Yamato replied sarcastically. "Do you remember what happened at the beach?"

Both their minds raced back to the beach incident where Honoka asked Yamato if they should go out again and then told him that she was only joking.

"I do remember and I… I… I was…" Honoka stuttered.

"You were what?" Yamato asked.

"I was scared; I was so scared that I would get hurt again. It wasn't a joke, I meant it but then you froze. You just paused and you thought I was making fun of you. I had this whole thing planned out in my head where I said it and you screamed yes immediately. When you froze I thought you didn't like me and I panicked." Honoka confessed.

"I wonder what your boyfriend would say about this." Yamato tried to smile.

"We broke up. He didn't like the idea of us still being friends." Honoka mumbled.

"I didn't know that." Yamato said.

"Akitsuki, even if you are moving on with life. I don't want to be left behind. I still have …" Honoka was about say something but stopped when she saw someone turn the corner and join them at the taps.

"I thought I saw you here Honoka." Miki said.

"Miki…" Yamato grumbled.

"Did you need something Hashiba?" Honoka asked.

"Not really, I just wanted to make sure I saw right." Miki said. "Yamato we need to talk about …"

Miki didn't even get to finish as Yamato began walking away. "I'm sorry Hashiba and Sakurai but I've got a train to catch." He then broke into a sprint.

XXXXX

Keitaro put pen to paper and began furiously working on the answers to the math questions in front of him. He was too distracted as he wrote that he ended tearing the paper because the pen ran out of ink.

"Ah!" He screamed. "The exam is just around the corner and I'm screwing up so bad."

"Are you okay Kei-kun?" Mutsumi asked opening his room door a little.

"Mutsumi, what are you doing here?" Keitaro asked. "I thought we were all going to study on our own from now."

"I know that's what Naru said about not getting distracted before the exams but I wanted to check up on you. Naru is sound asleep upstairs." Mutsumi said.

"Oh, I see. How have you been?" Keitaro asked.

"I've been well a bit lonely but still well." Mutsumi smiled weakly.

"If you feel that way we could study together." Keitaro offered hoping Mutsumi's presence would calm his mind.

"I'd like that but I think it'll upset Naru even more." Mutsumi declined.

"Why would it upset Naru?" Keitaro questioned.

"How can you be so blind Kei-kun?" Mutsumi smiled.

"My eyesight is pretty bad without my glasses." Keitaro laughed.

"You're so funny." Mutsumi giggled.

"Since you're here and Naru's asleep, could you help me with these math problems. I can't seem to understand the derivative integral concept." Keitaro begged.

"When you ask like that how can I say no?" Mutsumi entered the room.

She sat down next to Keitaro and began explaining to him the concept he didn't understand and a few others. He found himself learning while she just enjoyed the company. Before they knew it, an hour had passed.

"I thought I heard your voice here." Naru said from the doorway.

"Naru…" Keitaro said a bit surprised.

"I'm so glad to see you Naru." Mutsumi smiled.

"I thought we agreed no fooling around before the exams." Naru glared.

"We're not fooling around; Mutsumi is just helping me with some problems." Keitaro corrected.

"I miss the Ronin Stones." Mutsumi admitted.

"I guess I can't stop you two since you like each other so much." Naru scoffed before walking away.

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Keitaro got up to chase after the red head but Mutsumi held him back.

"Is that true Kei-kun, is that why Naru is so upset? Is it because you like me?" Mutsumi asked her face red.

"Mutsumi, I… I… I…" Keitaro stuttered becoming red in the face himself.

Before he could continue someone knocked on the door of his room.

"Knock, Knock, Manager-san." Urumi said as she knocked on the door.

"Yes, Urumi." Keitaro responded.

"I have the rent, I know you said that I should pay at the end of the month but I have the money for this month and next. So I decided to pay now." Urumi said peering into the room.

The blonde then saw Keitaro and Mutsumi standing close to each and both their faces were red.

"I'm so sorry." Urumi apologized ducking out of the room. "I didn't know you were busy. I'll come back later."

"I'm sorry for distracting you; I should go home now before it gets too late." Mutsumi said as she left.

The watermelon lover just left Keitaro alone with his thoughts. He was conflicted. He felt his feelings diverging in two different directions.

XXXXX

Yamato stood on the terrace and watched the night sky; next to him was the broom which he was supposed to be using. Deciding to end his procrastination he began sweeping but with lackluster effort.

"I've seen infants put more effort into their chores than you." A sharp voice said.

"Yes Aoyama, I know. I completely suck at this just like everything else." Yamato replied.

The kendo girl was caught off guard by the self pity in his tone.

"Whatever is depressing you is none of my business but if you let it consume you and affect your work here, then it will become my problem." Motoko declared.

"Don't worry; I won't slack off just because I'm miserable. I'll be done in a few minutes." Yamato said putting really effort in his task.

"If you are so miserable, you should talk to your friends." Motoko suggested uncharacteristically.

"My friends all think the same thing, I should go back." Yamato laughed.

"I don't care about this matter but why would that be so bad?" Motoko asked.

"I don't know where to start." Yamato scratched his head.

"I don't really care; I was just trying to be nice. My sister said I should try it." Motoko responded but was ignored.

"To start off with, I'm not perfect." Yamato began. "I have plenty of flaws."

"Now you're just stating the obvious." Motoko snickered.

"Like I was saying, I've made mistakes. I fall in love so easily that it's ridiculous. I had a great relationship but ruined it while trying to save it. I had a chance to be happy but hesitated because I was confused." Yamato continued.

"You sound like a sappy teen drama." Motoko sneered.

Yamato ignored the running commentary. "I even broke a girl's heart without knowing it. I'm a terrible person and I know it."

"Again with the obvious." Motoko sighed.

"I know, I can seem repetitive but I'm human." Yamato laughed sadly. "I have feelings; they don't seem to understand that. They all think I'm just supposed to put up their nonsense and take it without saying anything. All they ever do is put me down and make me feel worse than I already do."

"I'm sorry for that." Motoko mumbled.

"You're mean, spiteful and disgusted by me. I can't say too much about you because we're strangers but they were supposed to be my friends and family and they treated me the same way." Yamato went on.

"I'm not one known for giving advice to people like you but what I can say is, move on. I know what happens when you don't." Motoko said sadly thinking about herself.

"You're actually a really nice person when you want to be, you know that." Yamato smiled.

"How about less talk and more work. You keep this up and you might miss dinner." Motoko shouted.

"Yes ma'am." Yamato saluted as he got back to work.

XXXXX

Urumi and Shinobu were in the kitchen preparing Shinobu's favorite meal for supper. They were both wearing aprons and chopping while the stove heated up.

"So today was your first day of work?" Shinobu asked.

"Yeah, it was good. I just eased into things." Urumi answered.

"What do you do?" Shinobu asked curious.

"I'm an independent consultant." Urumi replied and saw Shinobu's blank look. "Basically I get paid to tell people what they're doing wrong."

"Oh, that sounds like a tough job." Shinobu remarked.

"Not really, I have an IQ of over 200 so it's easy for me." Urumi smiled.

"You're so amazing. Naru told us that you had the top score in the country on the Todai mock exams." Shinobu remembered.

"I did, that was a while back." Urumi recalled.

"You must have passed the real entrance exam on your first attempt." Shinobu theorized.

"I did actually but I ended up not attending the university." Urumi revealed.

"Why not?" Shinobu inquired surprised.

"I wasn't really interested in Todai, I wrote the exam for the sake of writing. When I was young I worked with my mother and made lots of money on the stock market without a degree so I knew I could manage on my own. So when it came to Todai I had to choose between spending time with the man I love or getting a meaningless degree." Urumi explained.

"You're so amazing. I wish I was like you. I can't even pass a stupid history test." Shinobu admitted.

"You're a bright girl, I'm sure you'll do great. How was school today?" Urumi asked.

"School was okay, I guess. I shared the bento I made with a few friends and they loved it. They told me I could easily get a boyfriend if I made lunch for him." Shinobu blushed.

"So is there a boy who you're planning on making lunch for?" Urumi questioned.

"Not really, I don't have anybody like that." Shinobu blushed.

"The redness of your face begs to differ." Urumi pointed out.

"It would never work out; I'm just a child and he…" Shinobu mumbled.

"So it's that kind of love." Urumi sighed. "Just make sure you don't close your eyes because you might miss out on life."

"I haven't really spent a lot of time with boys my age. Naru and Motoko say that I shouldn't." Shinobu explained.

"I see, so Naru and Motoko tell you what to do often." Urumi inquired.

"Kind of, they're my sempai and I should listen." Shinobu replied.

"Who told you that?" Urumi mused.

"They did." Shinobu answered.

"Well, I'm also your sempai now so I'm telling not to listen to everything they say." Urumi smiled.

"I don't know. They might get mad." Shinobu worried.

"If they do get mad then they'll have to deal with me." Urumi declared.

XXXXX

Keitaro sat at his desk tapping his pencil against the wooden surface without even noticing it. He was upset about how dinner had gone. For a reason unknown to him he was receiving the cold shoulder from Shinobu. The young chef didn't talk to him at all and she only responded to him in yes and no answers.

"Hey cousin, are you okay?" Yamato asked entering the room.

"I'm not really sure, is Shinobu okay? Did something happen to her?" Keitaro asked.

"She seemed fine; in fact she was full of life." Yamato answered.

"We were at the same dinner table right?" Keitaro tried to confirm.

"Oh, I wasn't really paying attention at dinner but when I helped her clean up afterwards she seemed happy and well." Yamato clarified.

"Maybe she's angry with me." Keitaro wondered.

"Did you do something?" Yamato asked.

Keitaro thought hard but came up blank. "I don't think I did anything."

"I'm not a mind reader but I think something might have happened without you knowing it." Yamato said as he prepared to leave.

"Where are you going?" Keitaro questioned.

"I'm going do such cleaning up around the onsen. All this hard work has really improved my stamina for running and the steam from the water has this refreshing sensation." Yamato responded.

Keitaro was once again left alone with his thoughts. He ruffled his hair trying to figure out what he did wrong. He always thought that Shinobu would be on his side, he had grown accustomed to her cheerfully calling him sempai and now something had changed.

He picked up his cell phone and began dialing a number. He held the mobile phone against his ear as it rang. He waited uneasily as he struggled to think of what to say when the person answered the phone.

"Moshi Moshi." The soft voice answered.

"Hi Mutsumi, I hope I'm not interrupting." Keitaro replied.

"Oh Kei-kun, you're not disturbing. I was just playing with a pencil when you phoned." Mutsumi chuckled.

"So you're also having trouble studying. I guess we both are too used to the whole idea of a study group. I feel like a child because I need someone to keep me on track so I don't lose my concentration." Keitaro admitted.

"I have the exact same problem, sometimes when I'm studying my mind just drifts and I end up imagining about what my future would be like once I pass the entrance exam and when I finally come back to reality I've lost so much time." Mutsumi confessed.

"You too, I thought I was the only one from the three of us." Keitaro laughed. "When was the last time you spoke to Shinobu?"

"I don't really remember. I'm such a ditz. Sorry Kei-Kun." Mutsumi apologized. "Is she alright?"

"That's the thing. I'm not sure; I don't know what's wrong." Keitaro admitted.

"Maybe Naru will know." Mutsumi suggested.

"Naru and I aren't exactly on the best of speaking terms at the moment." Keitaro sighed.

"Mitsune?"

"She's pretty mad at me as well."

"Motoko?"

"She'd question my interest in Shinobu and probably call me a pervert."

Mutsumi just sighed on the other end of the line as she tried to think of how to put into words what she wanted to say. "You know Kei-Kun, we're friends right. If you're stressed out about the entrance exams then we could, you know, get together and maybe help each other relax."

"That's sounds great." Keitaro couldn't believe how lucky he was.

"Perfect, make sure you tell that to Naru as well." Mutsumi added.

"Ah…." Keitaro then believed his luck. "I see. I don't want to keep you from your studies. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Kei-kun." Mutsumi replied.


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks to everyone for the reviews, story alerts, favorite story and favorite author adds so far.**

**Sorry about the delay in posting this chapter, I was struck with terrible writers block. On that note I hope I put forward an enjoyable chapter. **

**XXXXX**

**Chapter 6**

Two days passed without incident in the Hinata House. Two days of no fighting, no 'perverted' accidents, no accusations just two days of peace. These two days would have seemed like bliss given the pandemonium that was normally present but they didn't.

There was almost an air of awkwardness. Naru had seemingly become a shut in, isolating herself from everyone. Kitsune slowly fell back into her old habit of trying to scam money from people at bars and spent most of her time away from the house. Motoko dove into her kendo training and left little time for anything else. Su and Sarah formed their own secret society devoted to the study of capturing flying turtles. Shinobu began improving her friendship with Urumi while outwardly paying no heed to everyone except Yamato and Motoko.

Keitaro sat at a table in the practically empty Hinata Tea shop; he was staring at the cup of tea in front of him waiting for it to cool down. He was so focused on the steam escaping the cup he failed to notice his aunt/cousin sit down across him.

"So kid, why the long face? I think you're scaring away my customers." Haruka joked as she lit her cigarette.

"I think your lack of etiquette did that." Keitaro retorted.

"That was a sharp riposte." Haruka smiled.

"Without any distractions and everything going so smoothly, my mind is so much clearer. So much more focused, I've been able to study at a rate I never I knew I could." Keitaro confessed.

"Are you here to complain or brag?" Haruka asked.

"I can't explain it, it's like Mayuri Kurotsuchi injected me with the superhuman drug." Keitaro replied.

"Is that young-person speak for something, because I don't understand it?" Haruka sighed.

"I think I've become so used to everything being in chaos up there that I'm not able to stand things when they are calm. Time seems to be moving different and I feel out of place." Keitaro explained.

"I know what's wrong, you're going through a mid life crisis." Haruka spoke.

"No, that's not it." Keitaro dead panned.

"I know. I was only pulling your leg." Haruka teased.

"So do you have any idea why I'm feeling this way?" Keitaro questioned.

"I think I do but I don't know if you'll understand it. You're not accepting the peace you have because it's only pseudo peace." Haruka answered.

"Pseudo peace?" Keitaro said stumped.

"It may seem that I have no life outside of the Hinata but in reality I do know a lot about the world and people." Haruka replied.

"That's not an answer." Keitaro pointed out.

"I'm getting there. I've been keeping an eye on the house and from what I can tell you've all reached a point where you don't want to come in contact with each other for whatever reason." Haruka theorized. "If everybody remains silent of course there's going to be no noise."

"I see, in a situation like this it could be seen like a powder keg about to explode." Keitaro noted.

"Exactly, all of you need to sort out your petty issues because you're going to let things like this drag you down in life." Haruka warned.

"I don't have any petty issues." Keitaro laughed.

"Denial, but you're getting there slowly." Haruka mumbled inward.

"I have another problem that I need help with. Did I do something wrong to Shinobu? I think she hates me." Keitaro sobbed.

"I'm not a voyeur, I don't know what you do twenty four seven." Haruka responded.

"I don't know what to do." Keitaro heaved a sigh.

"Have you tried talking to her?" Haruka asked.

"Off course I… didn't." Keitaro said as he realized he had been a terrible person, it had been ages since he had actually spoken to Shinobu as a person.

Haruka saw some customers enter the shop and decided to leave Keitaro to his thoughts.

XXXXX

"Naru."

Naru stirred at her desk but went back to sleep.

"Naru."

Again she thought she heard someone calling her name but brushed it off as a dream.

"Naru."

This time she was sure someone was calling her name and the voice sounded like it was coming from inside her room. The red head shot up from her desk and looked around frantically.

"Mutsumi, where did you come from?" Naru asked out of breath.

"I've been waiting right here for you to wake up." Mutsumi smiled.

"How long have you been waiting there?" Naru questioned.

"About an hour." Mutsumi replied.

"An hour!" Naru exclaimed. "That's bordering on stalker like."

"I know. I'm sorry. You just looked so peaceful sleeping. I heard you haven't been getting much sleep lately and you were burning yourself out. I was worried so I came to see if you were alright." Mutsumi confessed.

"Did Keitaro complain to you about me being antisocial?" Naru sneered.

"No, actually Kitsune called and asked me if I could check up on you." Mutsumi revealed.

"I see. She's too busy bar hoping to check up on me so she asked you." Naru laughed.

"I think that's a bit harsh." Mutsumi replied.

"Is it? All she does with her time now is visit different bars; flirt with as many guys as she can so she can get free alcohol and extra cash. She thinks I'm not checking up on her." Naru explained.

"Maybe if you just talked to her things would be different." Mutsumi suggested.

"I don't think I can. I'm just a Todai entrance exam failure; I can't lecture anyone on how to live their life." Naru responded.

"You only failed once." Mutsumi tried to comfort her.

"I spent my entire school life studying to be at the top just so I could go to Todai to be with Seta. Isn't that pathetic. I'm just as bad as Keitaro and his dream to meet his promise girl." Naru spoke softly. "I left behind friends, my social life and my family. I sacrificed all that and still failed."

Mutsumi tried to think of something to say but she failed at coming up with something to cheer up the red head. Instead she just walked up to her and began stroking her hair.

"What are you doing?" Naru asked nervously.

"Whenever I felt down, my mum would do this to make me feel better." Mutsumi answered.

"It's not making me feel better." Naru whined.

"I think I know what's wrong." Mutsumi whispered.

"I bet your answer has something to do with watermelon." Naru retorted.

"No, I think you're upset because you thought no matter how much you gave up to succeed you'd always have Kei-kun to fall back on." Mutsumi explained.

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard." Naru scoffed.

"Is it? I think you saw Kei-kun as someone who had nothing else except Todai like you. Kei-kun gave up on having friends, a social life and even drifted from his family to pursue Todai. Sounds like you." Mutsumi smiled.

"I don't like this conversation anymore." Naru groaned.

"I think the fact that Kei-kun wants to change is scaring you. You heard him talking to his cousin when you were eaves dropping through the hole in your floor. Since then you were scared. The world isn't just the Hinata House Naru, you have to grow up. If you don't you'll lose your friends and you won't be able to go back home." Mutsumi went on.

"You're just saying that because you want Keitaro all for yourself." Naru said bitterly.

"I do like Kei-kun and I would like to be with him." Mutsumi confessed.

"I knew it!" Naru shouted.

"But I don't want Kei-kun to be with me because you drifted out of his life. That wouldn't be a real relationship." Mutsumi continued.

"What are you saying?" Naru questioned.

"Naru, you're the only rival for Kei-kun's affection but if you don't grow up you'll be left behind while everyone else does." Mutsumi said getting up to leave.

"When did you get so smart?" Naru cried.

Mutsumi just smiled as she left.

XXXXX

Keitaro continued to mope at the table in the tea shop with his head down. He felt the table move and assumed Haruka had returned. He looked up and was surprised by who was sitting there.

"I remember you, Yuka right." Keitaro sighed.

"That's good, you're Keitaro." Yuka nodded.

"It's still mid day, Yamato is at school." Keitaro pointed out.

"I know. I came to see you." Yuka explained.

"Why would you want to see me?" Keitaro asked.

"I wanted to apologize for the other day. I was rude and out of line with the things I said. I've been mauling over it for the past few days in my head and I realized that coming here to forcefully take Yamato back was not the best idea." Yuka said before stopping to catch her breath. "Are you willing to listen to me?"

"I guess so, I never expected you to apologize after last time." Keitaro smiled.

"That's good but before we start I just want you to know that I don't particularly like you." Yuka said coldly.

"That's an odd way to ask for a favor." Keitaro mused.

"I want you to know that I came here and apologized because I care about Yamato. I may not have shown it or acted like it but I do." Yuka stated.

"I guess I should say something before we start, no matter how good an argument you make to me I won't try and convince Yamato to return. Even if I believe everything you say I will let him make this choice himself." Keitaro declared.

"So even if you know he is wrong, you'll let him make a mistake that'll ruin his life." Yuka scoffed.

"I don't see how him staying here will ruin his life. If anything I think if he stayed there his life may be ruined." Keitaro retorted.

"I'm sorry, I got carried away and what was supposed to be a civilized discussion turned into mudslinging." Yuka apologized.

"I'm sorry too." Keitaro replied.

"Yamato has been ignoring our calls. He avoids his friends at school. I wanted to make sure he is doing okay. I'm worried about him." Yuka clenched her fists frustrated.

Yuka looked at Keitaro but her eyes were trying to avoid him as she attempted to hide the dejection that was on her face. Sitting close to the blonde Keitaro could see how beautiful and sad she was.

"I guess I can get him to talk to you." Keitaro mumbled.

"I didn't hear that." Yuka replied unsure of what was said.

"I guess I can get him to talk to you." Keitaro repeated louder.

"Really?" Yuka brightened up.

"Just you and that Megumi girl, don't mention this to Aunt Ayano, Saki or Suzuka. I don't think he'll want to talk to them." Keitaro replied.

"What makes you think he'll want to talk to Megumi and me?" Yuka asked hoping for something.

"I don't know if he'll want to but after you visited the other day I asked him about you and he said only good things about you so I guess he doesn't hate you." Keitaro answered.

"Thanks for that. I've been feeling depressed lately and you just helped cheer me up a little. That moves you up a notch in my book." Yuka smiled.

"Where does that leave me?" Keitaro questioned.

"At notch one." Yuka grinned.

XXXXX

Motoko swung her bokken up and down while taking a step forward and a step back in rhythm. She was doing the basics of kendo to try and clear her mind. She continued to train in the school even after everyone had left, hoping the repeating motion of the bokken would empty her mind.

Her mind was being plagued with thoughts, thoughts that shook her entire outlook on life. All she had ever known was that men want one thing and one thing alone. Recently she had met someone who actually seemed to care about love and emotional attachment. If one man was like this then there was a possibility that there were more men like this. That thought did not sit well with her.

"Training very hard I see." A voice said entering the gym.

The source of the voice was a teenage girl about Motoko's age with long black hair and blue eyes. She wore an open white trench-coat, cargo pants and bandages covering her chest. She was holding a wooden bokken in her right hand.

"Aoi Kunieda…" Motoko mumbled ceasing her training.

"I'm glad you didn't forget me." Aoi smiled.

"How could I forget you? You beat me in the semi-finals of the inter-high kendo competition. I've been training ever since to make sure I don't lose again." Motoko replied.

"I can see the fire in your eyes. It's a shame I graduate before the next inter-high. I would love to face this Motoko." Aoi complimented.

"Thank you but I guess I should ask what you're doing at my school." Motoko questioned.

"The Red Tails had some business with some of the boys from here who couldn't keep their hands to themselves." Aoi answered.

"The Red Tails as in the gang that was created for the safety of the girls of Ishiyama High School." Motoko said stunned.

"The one and only." Aoi smirked.

"I've heard about your gang that protects girls. It's an honorable thing. I too think all men are perverts." Motoko bowed.

"All men are perverts?" Aoi responded a bit surprised.

"That's why the Red Tails were created because all men are perverts?" Motoko inquired.

"Well, Ishiyama is a different place where all the boys are delinquents. That's why the Red Tails were formed. To generalize and say that all men are perverts is a bit extreme. I'd say more like seventy percent at most." Aoi laughed.

"No, I think all men are perverts. They have no redeeming qualities." Motoko scoffed.

"You can't honestly mean that. You must have some men in your life that aren't perverts. Father, brother, grandfather?" Aoi questioned.

"My parents died when I was a child, I only ever _had_ a sister and I never knew my grandparents." Motoko replied formally.

"I'm sorry for bringing that up." Aoi apologized. "There must a boy you like; you can't say he is a pervert."

"There's no one like that." Motoko turned away.

"So there is someone." Aoi snickered.

"NO! I don't like him. I'm just interested because he doesn't seem perverted. He's probably hiding his true nature." Motoko sneered.

"Oh, I see." Aoi smirked. "How about we have a kendo match, right here."

"I would like the opportunity to defeat you." Motoko smiled.

"Then let's bet on the outcome of this match, if I win you have to do what I say. If you win, I'll do what you say." Aoi pointed her bokken at Motoko.

Motoko hesitated but accepted anyway. A faint pink aura appeared around Aoi while a similar blue aura appeared around Motoko.

XXXXX

Yamato sighed as he left the equipment shed and prepared to begin on his journey to the train station. He decided to cut training early and give everyone a well deserved break. Most of the athletes were appreciative of the sentiment but Suzuka and a few others thought it was weak.

As Yamato walked he felt a strong arm grab hold of his shoulder. He immediately turned to see who it was.

"Hashiba…" Yamato said surprised.

"I've wanted to talk to you for the past few days but you were always busy." Miki replied.

"I'm sorry; I was so busy with… stuff." Yamato lied.

"Stuff huh? You're not going to bother coming up with a more detailed lie." Miki sighed.

"I guess I can't fool you." Yamato relented.

"Why have you been avoiding me? Aren't we friends?" Miki asked.

"We are friends but you're Suzuka's best friend." Yamato retorted.

"I am but I'm still your friend. I'm not going to pick sides on this matter but you've already decided that I'm against you." Miki exploded.

"I'm sorry I thought you would have taken Suzuka's side without questioning it." Yamato apologized.

"It's like you don't know me at all." Miki scoffed.

"I don't really know you that well." Yamato mumbled.

"Wow, you really know how to sweet talk a girl." Miki glared.

"I'm really sorry." Yamato bowed.

"You don't have to keep apologizing." Miki chuckled.

"I know but I guess things haven't changed between us. I should have waited to hear you out before deciding you were automatically against me." Yamato explained.

"It's okay. You can make it up to me by treating me to lunch." Miki smirked.

"Heh, I don't think I have enough money to be to feed you." Yamato joked.

"What exactly are you implying?" Miki shouted.

"I'm not saying that you eat too much, that was all Yasunobu." Yamato laughed.

"That fool." Miki waved her fist through the air.

"Don't say that, he was nice enough to treat you to lunch." Yamato pointed out.

"And his been saying I bankrupted him ever since." Miki reminded.

"I guess things between us haven't really changed." Yamato grinned.

"That was all in your head. You have a too active imagination." Miki ruffled Yamato's hair.

"My trains going to leave soon but next time let's get that lunch." Yamato smiled as he ran and waved goodbye.

XXXXXX

The Urashima Confectionary Store was a small, family run bakery. Akane and Keita Urashima were the owners and only employees of the shop. Their daughter Kanako would help out whenever she was free. The shop dealt mainly in baking bread, cakes, small treats and taking special orders for the surrounding neighborhood. Although it wasn't very successful Akane and Keita were happy with it.

Over the sounds of the Keita mixing dough and trying to adjust the over temperature the shop phone began to ring. Akane quickly dashed passed her husband and picked up the phone.

"Urashima Confectionary Store, how may I help you?" Akane greeted in a cheerful voice.

"Oh Akane, it's so nice to hear your voice." The person on the other end of the line said.

"Oh Hina, it's been too long. I hope you're doing well." Akane lied but sounded gleeful.

"I want to speak to my son." Hina demanded.

"I'm sorry but Keita is very busy at the moment. He ended up taking two big orders at the same time." Akane explained.

"Shouldn't you be helping him?" Hina scoffed.

"I would be if I wasn't talking to you right now." Akane retorted.

"This is very important and I guess I can tell you about it." Hina sighed.

"Go ahead." Akane prepared herself for whatever nonsense Hina was about to spout.

"I've decided to let Kanako join me on my travels around the world!" Hina exclaimed.

"This phone must be broken because I thought I heard you say that you decided to let Kanako join you on your travels around the world." Akane laughed uncomfortably.

"No, you heard me correctly." Hina clarified.

"You must be out of your senile mind!" Akane exploded.

Then there was silence and a new voice was on the other end of the line. Keita had wrestled the phone away from Akane after hearing about Kanako.

"Mother, what are you talking about?" Keita demanded to know.

"I'm travelling the world and feeling a bit lonely. I have the money to pay for Kanako joining me." Hina explained.

"That's not what I mean. How can you say you decided? We're her parent so we should have to make that decision." Keita stated.

"Oh, I thought you'd be thrilled that I was offering your daughter an opportunity she would never have." Hina said in a holier-than-thou tone.

"I appreciate the idea but Kanako is in her final year of high school. She's gotten out of her anti-social habits and made friends. I'm sorry mother but we can't agree with you on this." Keita replied.

"Think about this carefully, your daughter may never have a chance like this. Who needs school? I didn't complete high school and I made a success of my life." Hina sneered.

"Mother, I know how you made such a success and it's not something I'm proud of." Keita whispered.

"I thought you would have learned to appreciate all I did to put food on the table for you growing up. I toiled and sacrificed so that you could have a good life. I gave up so much for you and your siblings." Hina sobbed.

"It's not like that mother. I do appreciate but…" Keita was at a loss for words.

"But what…" Hina asked.

"But nothing. You're not ruining my daughter's education. We've already lost one child to you and your gobbledygook ideals." Akane shouted taking over the phone when she saw her husband struggling.

"Put my son back on." Hina demanded.

"No, you're going to have to deal with me. I failed to protect Keitaro from your influence but I won't fail a second time." Akane declared.

"You're going to rob your daughter of a truly once-in-a-lifetime opportunity because you resent me." Hina accused.

"I'm not robbing my daughter of anything. I'm protecting her. I know if you asked directly she would say yes without hesitating because she feels like she owes you." Akane retorted. "But she owes you nothing!"

"You have to let your child grow up; you can't be such an overprotective mother. You're smothering her." Hina shouted.

"Kanako is still young. She has school, her friends and her dream. I'm not letting you take that away from her." Akane yelled.

"I'm helping her fulfill her dream of becoming an Inn Owner." Hina said.

"That's not her dream. Kanako dreams of becoming an actress. She gets so excited when she talks about acting and makeup and playing a role. If I let you shatter that dream by reminding her of a promise she made as a child I would have failed twice." Akane muttered.

"Failed twice? You count Keitaro as a failure?" Hina hissed.

"No, my son would never be a failure. I failed in protecting his dreams from that promise. At first I thought it was good that you had him aiming for such a top university but then when he became obsessed with that promise then only I saw my mistake." Akane cried.

"It's apparent that I'm not going to get anywhere with you. I'm going to phone Kanako directly on her cell-phone." Hina stated.

"I won't let you destroy my daughter's future!" Akane vowed as Hina cut the call.

XXXXX

Haruka wiped down the tables of her shop. She had decided to send home the staff early today and close up before normal. Business had been slow recently, people had been choosing to buy cheap machine brewed tea and coffee now instead of fresh made from her shop.

There was a knock at the door followed by a soft voice. "Haruka Nee-Chan?"

"Yui, Yui Kotegawa!" Haruka said surprised seeing the person at the door. "You've grown up so much since the last time I saw you."

Yui was a petite, young woman in her twenties. She had long flowing black hair that reached down past her shoulder with hazel brown eyes. She wore a pink top with blue jeans and was carrying a pink cat themed handbag.

"It's been a while, two years I think." Yui smiled as he approached Haruka.

"I'm glad you remember to call me Haruka Nee-Chan and not Haruka Obasan." Haruka smiled as she hugged the young woman.

"You kind of forced me into it." Yui replied remembering Haruka's rage at being called Obasan.

"Obasan makes me sound like an old lady." Haruka frowned.

"My mum was your best friend, you two were like sisters. I think it's appropriate to refer to you as Obasan." Yui explained.

"You want to debate this again?" Haruka asked breaking her fists.

"NO!" Yui shouted waving away the idea.

"Sit, I'll get us tea." Haruka showed Yui to a table.

Yui sat at the table and waited patiently till Haruka emerged from the back carrying a tray with two cups of tea.

"You make the best tea." Yui complimented after taking a sip.

"Thanks, so what brings you here? You live pretty far from here." Haruka questioned.

"I was looking at apartments. My work load at Todai has gotten to a point where if I could save time in traveling to campus, I could use that time for studying. I really need to save that time." Yui sighed.

"You're studying law right?" Haruka tried to confirm.

"I am and it's a lot." Yui sighed again.

"Why do you look so depressed?" Haruka asked.

"I wasn't able to find a place in my budget. The places that were in my budget weren't exactly acceptable. There were people engaging in unacceptable behavior right in the lobby." Yui explained.

"I see you're as high strung as ever." Haruka chuckled.

"Since this day was wasted I thought I could salvage it by visiting you." Yui added.

"So you're looking for a little pick me up?" Haruka winked.

"Eh, no. I don't drink." Yui stated firmly.

"You're a university student; you should spend more time having fun." Haruka scolded.

"My mother always said you were the bad influence." Yui smiled.

"If you don't mind me asking, what exactly is your budget?" Haruka inquired.

Yui whispered the amount.

"That's perfect!" Haruka exclaimed.

"For what?" Yui almost jumped out of her chair shocked.

"Your budget will get you a room at the Hinata House dorm. I think there are two free rooms. My nephew is the owner; if I ask him then I'm sure you'll a room." Haruka suggested.

"I don't know. I'm not really good with co-ed places." Yui mumbled.

"The Hinata House is technically an all girls dorm. The only guys there; are the owner and his little cousin who is working there temporarily." Haruka explained.

"If I can stay here then that will shave an hour and a half of my traveling. Please ask your nephew about a room." Yui requested.

"I'll phone him right now." Haruka walked over to the telephone.

XXXXX

Shinobu walked around the kitchen preparing dinner. Normally she would have help from Urumi but the blonde phoned earlier to tell Shinobu that she wouldn't be back till late at night because of work.

Shinobu was used to working alone but liked having someone around, she would just be happy with someone to keep her company. As expected the heat from the stove caused her to sweat. She searched her pockets for a tissue but she didn't have any.

She turned around to see a hand holding out a tissue.

"Thank you sempai." Shinobu bowed.

"You're welcome." Keitaro tried to smile as he picked pieces of fruit out of his hair.

"What happened to your hair?" Shinobu asked and then mentally scolded herself; she was supposed to be giving him the cold shoulder.

"It's the strangest thing. I was around the house and a kiwi just fell out of the sky." Keitaro explained.

"I see." Shinobu said getting back to cooking.

"I thought you would be more interested." Keitaro replied dejected.

"I'm not." Shinobu responded.

"Oh, then I guess I'll get going." Keitaro sighed.

The manager was half-way out of the kitchen when he stopped and decided to man up.

"Shinobu, did I do something?" Keitaro asked.

"No." Shinobu's answer was short.

"Did I upset you or offend you?" Keitaro pressed.

"Yes." Shinobu said shocking Keitaro.

"What did I do? Tell me. I'm so sorry." Keitaro began apologizing feverously.

"How can you apologize for something you don't know?" Shinobu asked.

On the outside she seemed cool and collected but on the inside she was panicking like a scared child. This was the first time she was saying these kinds of things to her precious sempai. Shinobu's practices talks with Urumi over the past few days was helping.

"Is it because I saw your teddy bear underwear when you doing laundry last week?" Keitaro asked nervously.

"N…N… N…N… N…N… N…N… N…N… N…N… N…N… N…N… N…N…" Shinobu stuttered turning bright red.

"Then I must have done something." Keitaro stated.

"It's what you didn't do." Shinobu mumbled.

"I don't understand." Keitaro replied.

"When you first became our manager, whenever I used to cook you used to thank me and compliment me so much that I was happy doing it. Then as time went by you starting thanking me as if you had to do so, without sincerity and now you don't even thank me anymore." Shinobu revealed. "You say stuff like the food looks great but it just isn't the same. It feels like I'm taken for granted."

"I thank you all the time." Keitaro said.

"Just saying something is hollow if you don't mean it. You told your cousin you would change and I was happy when you put Kitsune in her place the other day but aside from that I haven't seen anything." Shinobu stated.

"Are you angry with me for not changing as well?" Keitaro asked.

"Yes, Both!" Shinobu declared. "I thought if you changed then you'd appreciate me more. If you appreciated me, then the rest of the girls would as well." Shinobu confessed.

At that moment Keitaro realized what Shinobu meant. She had done just as much work as him when it came to keeping the house running. She did so much for everyone and all she got was just two words in return. Two words that could never measure up to how much they should appreciate the young girl.

"I'm sorry." Keitaro mumbled.

"Dinner will be ready soon. Just take the pot of the stove in ten minutes. I'm not going to eat tonight." Shinobu replied as she walked out of the kitchen.

XXXXX

**AN: Yui Kotegawa from To Love-ru makes her appearance in this chapter and she will join the Hinata House soon. Credit to HotelKatz for suggesting her. A brief explanation on her situation in this story to all those who know To Love-ru, Bye Bye Memory-kun worked and Yui and everyone forgot about Lala so with that Yui never got involved with Rito and went on with her life graduating high school and then going to Todai. **

**Thanks for reading. Leave a review to let me know what you think about the story so far and what improvements I could make. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Motoko walked across the terrace tentatively lifting each foot as pain shot through her legs each time her feet touched the ground. After her loss against Aoi yesterday she returned home and went straight to her room requesting to be left alone. She even went into the onsen when she knew everyone else was asleep but it was no good. A full night's sleep and a good soaking didn't ease the physical and emotional pain of defeat.

She shook her head in disgrace as she kneeled down. Training in this state would be impossible. What hurt the most to the proud kendo girl was that Aoi's Shingetsu Style easily defeated her Shinmei-ryu style.

"Aoyama! Seven days are up!" Yamato stated proudly strutting onto the terrace confidently.

"What in the world are you talking about baka?" Motoko questioned.

"My bold declaration from chapter two." Yamato reminded.

"Oh that. I guess you proved me wrong." Motoko gritted her teeth.

"This wasn't the reaction I was expecting. This feels like a hollow victory." Yamato frowned.

"Probably because your week here is up and you have to leave." Motoko sneered.

"Ah!" Yamato cringed. "I totally forgot about that."

"I'll be glad to have one less vile male here, so I wish you well where ever you are going as long as it's far away from here." Motoko responded.

"I guess I should call that lady from that inn." Yamato sighed.

"I guess you should." Motoko chided.

"Are you okay?" Yamato asked off handedly.

"I'm perfectly fine!" Motoko yelled.

"You don't look fine." Yamato mumbled.

"What makes you say that?" Motoko screamed.

Yamato stumbled back surprised by the outburst. "It's just that every day for the past week when I've come up here you were always swinging your bokken never kneeling."

"Stalker…" Motoko accused.

"What the hell? I'm not a stalker you crazy kendo freak." Yamato retorted as a week's worth of pent up frustration at being called names erupted.

"YOU Bastard!" Motoko screeched as she tried to charge at Yamato.

Pain shot through Motoko's legs and she ended up stumbling and falling to her knees.

"You're definitely not okay. You should see a doctor." Yamato suggested.

"I don't need a doctor. I'll be fine. This is nothing." Motoko grumbled.

"It's not nothing. Look at yourself, your entire body is trembling. You're in pain." Yamato tried to get through to her. "I've seen what happens when a person pushes themselves too hard."

"You don't have any reasons to be talking about my body." Motoko growled.

"From what I just said you only managed to hear the body part." Yamato sighed.

"I'll be fine as soon as you leave me alone. I don't need help from someone as pathetic as you." Motoko responded.

"And you're not going to get my help. I can't stand people like you. You think you're better than everyone else but all you have is a superiority complex. That's all, just an over inflated ego about how great you." Yamato said before leaving.

XXXXX

Shinobu yawned as she wiped the sleep out of her eyes and walked downstairs to the kitchen. She was getting ready to prepare breakfast like always but today something was off. There was a scent in the air coming from the kitchen. Someone was preparing breakfast, it didn't smell as good as when she did but it was still good. She could smell steamed rice, miso soup and grilled fish.

Shinobu peered into the kitchen and watched as Keitaro was running around frantically trying to ensure everything was edible.

"Sempai?" Shinobu said confused.

"Oh Shinobu, I was hoping to have this all ready before you got up." Keitaro admitted.

"What are you doing?" Shinobu asked.

"I'm making breakfast." Keitaro answered.

"I know but why?" Shinobu worried. "Are you kicking me out after what I said yesterday?"

"NO!" Keitaro yelled trying to clear up any misunderstanding before they became serious.

"Then why?" Shinobu questioned.

"I was up all night thinking about what you said and you were right." Keitaro confessed.

Shinobu just stood still and remained silent.

Keitaro stood up straight and then bowed towards the diminutive chef. "I'm sorry for being a terrible manager and friend. You were right when you said I had gotten too used to everything you did and forgot to appreciate you. I tried passing it off as I had to use all my time to study but even when Yamato helped out and gave me a lot of free time I still didn't do anything for you. I'm sorry."

Keitaro paused for a breath before continuing. "I should say this more often, without you this house wouldn't be able to run. You do so much for us and we don't even realize it. I promise that from now I'll always remember how important you are. I'll make breakfast so you can sleep a little later, you deserve much more but I can't think of anything right now."

"Sempai…" Shinobu said as she began tearing up.

"Oh no, did I upset you again." Keitaro began panicking.

"No, I'm just happy you finally said something. It means so much." Shinobu replied.

"I'm glad you were angry with me. It allowed me to see the truth. I'm going to make sure the girls appreciate you too." Keitaro declared.

"No sempai, if you make them then they wouldn't really appreciate everything I do. It would just be a task for them." Shinobu declined.

"I guess you're right. They just have to see if for themselves." Keitaro sighed.

"I'm glad you understand. Sempai, I'm going to stop doing their laundry." Shinobu declared.

"That's your decision." Keitaro nodded.

"So you can start charging me rent appropriately." Shinobu added.

"I don't understand." Keitaro replied.

"When Granny Hina said I could stay here for free she told me I'd have to cook and take care of the girl's laundry. If I'm not doing the laundry and not preparing three meals then I should pay rent." Shinobu explained.

"Ah, so granny really made you do that." Keitaro thought out loud.

"Don't worry about me sempai, I can find a part time job." Shinobu assured.

"No, you don't have to pay rent." Keitaro stated.

"It would be unfair if I didn't." Shinobu squeaked.

"What was unfair was the way you were treated. You did so much more than what was needed to cover rent. You took average, everyday ingredients and turned them into gourmet meals that we enjoyed. If anything, I owe you." Keitaro explained.

"Sempai…" Shinobu cried.

XXXXX

Akane and Keita sat in the living room with their daughter Kanako explaining to her what had happened the previous day with Hina.

"Granny wants me to go with her…" Kanako mumbled.

"We told her that she can't take you away." Akane stated.

"But its granny then she must have a reason." Kanako replied.

"Yes, and it's always a selfish reason." Akane retorted.

"What your mother is trying to say is that your granny isn't thinking about your best interests." Keita explained.

"Granny always told me that she does what she does so that Oniichan and I can follow our dreams." Kanako mentioned.

"Well, that's not correct. She's more trying to get you to follow her dreams for you." Keita clarified.

"I… I… I… want to own an inn with Oniichan." Kanako said sheepishly.

"Is that really what you want?" Akane asked.

"Well, maybe if I could also be an actress then I would be happy." Kanako admitted.

"Kanako, do you think Keitaro would happy if you obsessed over a promise you made as a child." Akane asked.

"He did." Kanako answered.

"Yes he did and I blame your grandmother for that but truthfully I let her do it." Akane sighed in regret.

"I don't understand." Kanako looked confused.

"Your brother was a very weak student. He was struggling to learn and his grades were horrific. Then your grandmother reminded him about a promise to attend Todai with a girl. He had a spark his eye and started spending more time studying. His horrific grades turned to average and I was so happy. I thought if this promise could help then it wasn't so bad. Then slowly he began obsessing over it." Akane explained.

Keita stopped his wife and decided to take over. "Keitaro became a shut in. He gave up on everything for the purpose of getting into Todai. Then when he failed the entrance exam for the first time it got much worse. After his second failure we thought he would quit but he wanted to keep going. We tried explaining to him that we couldn't afford to keep paying for cram school."

"That's when you kicked him out." Kanako spoke.

"No, we didn't kick him out. We told him that we were not going to be paying for cram school anymore and that he should get a job. He misunderstood and then Hina made him manager of that failing dorm." Akane corrected.

"Granny always told me you forced Keitaro out of this house." Kanako admitted. "I was so angry with you for that."

"No, we would never do that. Your brother became something else in his obsession; we were trying to get him out of that state." Akane explained.

"When we called him out on it he got angry. We said some things and he said some things." Keita sighed.

XXXXX

"In any right-angled triangle, the area of the square whose side is the hypotenuse, the side opposite the right angle, is equal to the sum of the areas of the squares whose sides are the two legs, the two sides that meet at a right angle." Urumi explained as she tutored Shinobu.

"That the Pythagoras' theorem." Shinobu noted.

"Yes, and since you know that I'm not understanding how you got all these wrong." Urumi said going over Shinobu's answers.

"I'm sorry; I guess I'm just distracted." Shinobu apologized.

"What's distracting you kid?" Urumi raised an eyebrow.

Shinobu then went about explaining the morning's event with Keitaro.

"I'm so happy that sempai said that." Shinobu cooed.

"I'm glad you're happy but don't let it affect your school work. Keitaro would feel bad if he was the cause of you getting one out of ten." Urumi warned.

"I did that bad." Shinobu hunched over.

"Don't sweat it. I get you're excited. I'm excited too. Onizuka is coming to visit me today." Urumi admitted.

"Really! That's great." Shinobu exclaimed.

"I know. He wasn't supposed to come till next week but he said he couldn't stand being away from me for so long." Urumi explained.

"Do you think I can meet him?" Shinobu asked shyly.

"Off course, I'm sure he would love to meet you. You two will get along great." Urumi smiled.

"Ever since you told me about him I've wanted to meet him. You made him sound so amazing." Shinobu replied.

"He is amazing. I wouldn't just choose any guy over Todai." Urumi joked.

"I want a love like that. Someone who's worth everything to me." Shinobu thought out loud.

"That's so precious." Urumi gushed.

"EH!" Shinobu squeaked. "I didn't mean to say that out loud."

Urumi then began explaining her entire relationship to the young girl.

Unknown to the two a certain bored fox was eavesdropping at the door. Kitsune wondered what would happen if she told Naru that her old acquaintance gave up Todai for man. She knew Motoko would have a field day with it. A wicked grin shot across Kitsune's face.

XXXXX

Haruka sighed heavily as she watched over her empty shop. Business was still bad even on the weekends. If business continued like this she would have to lay off staff or close down, neither of which she wanted to do.

"This place is completely deserted." A voice said entering the tea shop. The voice served to aggravate Haruka even further.

"What do you want Seta?" Haruka asked annoyed.

"Can't I just stop by to visit an old friend?" Seta replied acting innocent.

"You always have an alternate motive you sly bastard." Haruka scoffed.

"I guess you know me too well." Seta laughed.

"So what do you want?" Haruka inquired.

"I actually need some help with paperwork. I've discovered quite the backlog." Seta confessed.

"How far back?" Haruka asked.

"A year, maybe longer." Seta rubbed the back of his head.

"What the hell do you even do in that university?" Haruka exploded.

"I know it's bad. I would ask Keitaro for help but he is busy studying for the entrance exam. I need you." Seta begged.

"There's no way that just the two of us would be able to do all that." Haruka sneered.

"If we work at it really hard and take no breaks we may finish in a week." Seta smiled.

"A week with you, no thanks." Haruka refused.

"Please Haruka, I need to do this or else I may get fired." Seta pleaded.

"I guess there's something I can do." Haruka relented.

"Thank you, I'll treat you to dinner this whole week!" Seta exclaimed.

"I'm not going to be helping you alone. Business is slow so right now my employees have nothing to do. They may not have experience in archeology but they can manage the paper work if I direct them. I have three employees so you bring over your paper work tomorrow and I'll have them do it but you have to pay them adequately!" Haruka declared.

"I guess that's better than nothing." Seta sighed disappointed.

XXXXX

Urumi led an excited Onizuka up the stairs to the Hinata House. Onizuka looked on in amazement at the place Urumi was staying for the price she was. He thought it was a steal. Shinobu waited outside in front of the house.

"Good day, it's nice to meet you. My name is Shinobu Maehara." Shinobu greeted nervously.

"There's no need to be so edgy." Urumi smiled.

"So you're Shinobu. Thank you for taking care of Urumi." Onizuka bowed. "My name is Eikichi Onizuka."

"You're so big." Shinobu pointed out.

"Thanks, I do like to work out." Onizuka blushed.

"If only he spent as much time studying as he does working out then he would be a genius." Urumi joked.

"Aren't you forgetting that I scored a hundred percent on a national test?" Onizuka laughed.

"Ryoko Sakurai…" Urumi coughed.

Onizuka suddenly went pale. "How did you know that?"

"I have my sources." Urumi chuckled.

"You two are so perfect together." Shinobu marveled.

The happy mood was ruined as Naru, Motoko and Kitsune joined the fray.

"Shinobu, I think you should go inside." Naru suggested.

"Stay away from that vile male." Motoko warned clutching a bokken.

Urumi and Onizuka just watched the scene unfold completely baffled.

"What are you doing Naru?" Urumi asked.

"We're here to save you!" Naru declared.

"I don't understand." Urumi stared blank.

"We're here to save you from that vile male!" Motoko shouted.

"Oh no, Onizuka is my boyfriend." Urumi corrected.

"Yeah, I'm not just some guy Urumi picked up." Onizuka joked.

"We know all about you. We know that you corrupted her mind and forced her to be yours." Motoko shouted unproven nonsense.

Urumi and Onizuka were shocked by the accusation.

"You brainwashed Urumi and forced her not to attend Todai and now you're making her work to pay off your debt. You are scum." Naru added.

Urumi looked towards Shinobu and the young chef swore she didn't say anything.

"All males are vile. They only see women as objects and treat them that way." Motoko exclaimed.

"What the hell is your problem?" Urumi demanded to know. "I choose to be with Onizuka rather than go to Todai. I made my own decision."

"You don't have to lie. We will protect you from him." Naru responded.

"Naru-sempai, you've got things completely wrong. They're in love." Shinobu tried to talk some sense.

"Release Urumi from your clutches or else you will be vanquished." Motoko threatened.

"I'm not in anybody's clutches." Urumi shouted.

"How do explain your decision to not attend Todai. It's obvious that he forced you." Naru accused.

"I can't believe what I'm hearing. I'm my own woman and I make my own decisions." Urumi shouted.

All of the shouting caused Keitaro to come sprinting out the house expecting there to be a fire or some other disaster.

"What's going on? Is someone hurt?" Keitaro asked frantic.

"Not as yet." Urumi glared.

"Go inside Urashima. We don't need another vile male here. We already have our hands full with him." Motoko pointed to Onizuka.

"Oh, I don't believe we've met. I'm Keitaro Urashima." Keitaro greeted.

"The name's Eikichi Onizuka." Onizuka replied.

"What are doing Keitaro? Don't get chummy with him. He brainwashed and corrupted Urumi." Naru shouted.

"Just look at him. He is clearly one of those gangsters that entraps young girls and forces them to sell themselves." Motoko added.

"I never sold anyone. Urumi was the one who sold them." Onizuka shouted remembering a past incident.

"So he admits it!" Motoko yelled.

"I don't think that's what he said." Keitaro tried to pacify the situation.

"He admitted to forcing Urumi to sell someone. He probably forces her to do his dirty work." Naru threw in her wild opinion.

"Keitaro, don't just stand there. Do something." Urumi demanded.

"Off course, Onizuka would you like something to drink." Keitaro offered.

"What the hell are you doing?" Naru shrieked.

"I thought a joke would lighten the mood." Keitaro jumped.

"Keitaro, get them to stop this unnecessary and unwarranted slander." Urumi insisted.

"Naru, Motoko, what is going on?" Keitaro asked his hot headed residents.

"He brainwashed Urumi. He must have manipulated her mind so she wouldn't go to Todai." Naru blamed.

"We can't just do nothing while he defiles her innocence." Motoko shouted.

"What proof do you have?" Keitaro questioned.

"Kitsune told us everything we needed to know." Naru replied.

"I highly doubt that." Keitaro mumbled.

"Urumi, I'm sorry. Naru and Motoko just have this outlook on the world. They sort of see men as evil. They can't accept them." Keitaro tried to explain.

"I can't believe that you're making excuses for them and defending them." Urumi said flabbergasted.

"Keitaro, I thought you were a decent bloke but you can't just let this kind of thing slide. You're in charge of them. It's up to you to put them on the right path." Onizuka shook his head disappointed.

"I'm not making excuses; they've both had tough lives and bad experiences. It's not their fault." Keitaro tried to explain.

"Are you even listening to yourself sempai?!" Shinobu exploded.

"You're completely useless Keitaro. You've even managed to upset Shinobu." Naru spat.

"Shinobu…" Keitaro mumbled unsure.

The air was thick with tension. Naru and Motoko had thrown a lot of baseless accusations while Onizuka had taken them without retaliating. Things were building up to a melting point. Naru and Motoko looked edgy as if they were getting ready for a physical confrontation.

Amidst this heated moment Yamato walked out of the house with his headphones on and through the people gathered.

"Are you guys throwing me a farewell party?" Yamato asked taking off his headphones.

"NO!" Came the loud response from everyone gathered.

Keitaro quickly grabbed Yamato and pulled him out from the middle.

"You don't have to be weak and live in the shadow of a man anymore." Motoko declared.

"You make these moronic and childish accusations of Eikichi brainwashing and corrupting me, would you like to tell me what you think you've been doing to Shinobu?" Urumi retorted.

"What are you talking about?" Naru shouted.

"The way you control her life and force her to submit to your ideals." Urumi yelled.

"No way, everything we did was to protect Shinobu from this horrible world." Naru denied. "She has no problem with us."

"Naru-sempai, you never listen to anyone when their opinion differs from yours." Shinobu spoke up. "Urumi CHOSE not to go to Todai because she wanted time with Onizuka the man she LOVES!"

"This vile male has somehow gotten to poor Shinobu as well." Motoko yelled enraged.

"Do you even hear yourself?" Urumi asked. "Do something Keitaro. This is harassment and slander. It is the landlord's responsibility to provide a safe environment and this isn't safe at all."

"Enough talk." Motoko shouted as she charged.

Onizuka immediately pulled Urumi behind him and went to meet Motoko head on. The kendo expert swung her bokken down but Onizuka easily avoided the attack.

"Damn it, my attacks are still slow after the battle with Aoi yesterday." Motoko cursed under her breath.

She continued to swing while Onizuka continued to easily dodge the attacks. Onizuka got fed up and then grabbed onto Motoko's bokken and yanked it from her shaky grip. He then delivered a round kick catching Motoko on her side before knocking her back with a palm-heel punch to the gut. Motoko stumbled backwards before following over.

Onizuka then picked up her bokken and broke it over his knee.

"Since you've gone too far, it's my job to punish you." Onizuka grinned as he pulled out a large rubber hand with the words "Mr. Slap-Happy" on it.

"Did he have that in his shirt the entire time?" Keitaro asked stunned.

Motoko looked on staggered and horrified as Onizuka approached her.

"Whoa, I think that's enough." Yamato said stepping between Onizuka and Motoko.

"What are you doing boy?" Onizuka asked.

"I'm stopping you." Yamato answered.

"I know that, but why?" Onizuka questioned.

"I might be a kid but I can safely assume you're going to try and spank her with that thing. All you're going to do is end up perpetuating the idea that all men are perverts." Yamato replied firmly.

"I don't need your help idiot." Motoko yelled as she got up and ran into the house humiliated that a male saved her.

"Motoko!" Naru called out as she found herself without an ally.

With a huff the red head turned and stormed off.

"This ended up being kind of anti-climatic." Kitsune mumbled as she left.

"Keitaro, you need to get your house in order!" Urumi yelled.

"What?" Keitaro responded stunned.

"Those girls are walking disasters. This can't go on like this. You have to do something!" Urumi demanded.

"I… I… I… I… I… I… I… I… I… I… I… I…" Keitaro stuttered.

"Urumi and I are going to Tokyo to spend the day together. We'll give some time to get things sorted out." Onizuka turned and led Urumi away.

"You've gotten yourself into a whole lot of trouble." Yamato lamented looking at his cousin's contorted face.

"I don't know what to do." Keitaro admitted.

"You have to get serious. That's all the advice I got for you." Yamato said as he picked up his bag.

"Where are you going?" Keitaro asked.

"My week here is up. I don't think I can stay here after that." Yamato laughed uncomfortably.

"No, you're going to stay here as long as you need to. I'm not going to let them dictate my decisions. If they got a problem with it then they can leave." Keitaro declared.

"Wow sempai that was amazing." Shinobu marveled.

"Now if you can only take that same bravery and use it to talk to them." Yamato sighed.

XXXXX

**AN: Sorry that this chapter was delayed and shorter than usual. **

**Anyway next chapter will be the fallout from this confrontation. What will Keitaro end up doing as he tries to prove that he can get his house in order? Also Yui Kotegawa, Todai law student, will be finally be moving in, hint hint. **

**Thanks to Grey Wolf4 for his help with the confrontation scene in this chapter. **

**As always I'm open to suggestions from readers.**


	8. Chapter 8

**The eighth chapter in my story, prepare for the fallout from the last chapter.**

**XXXXX**

**Chapter 8**

Keitaro sat in his room pulling his hair in frustration. He was trying to think of a way to handle what had happened earlier. Shinobu and Yamato watched him. The young chef and sprinter were staying put afraid of running into Motoko or Naru should they be wandering the halls of the Hinata.

"What am I going to do?" Keitaro dropped his head onto his desk defeated. "Their behavior was completely unacceptable and I even tried defending them."

"You could evict them." Yamato suggested.

"That's too harsh. I'm angry with them too but I don't think we should just throw them out." Shinobu stated.

"We won't literally throw them out. Just give them a helping hand out the door." Yamato explained.

"That's not any better." Shinobu squealed.

"How could we evict them?" Keitaro asked as an idea came into his head.

"Sempai, are you going to throw them out?" Shinobu asked.

"If it comes down to it then yes but right now I think we could use this into forcing them to straighten out." Keitaro explained.

"I'm pretty sure the landlord can cancel the contract for any violation of the contract. Usually reasons are non-payment of rent, alterations in the house, excessive noise and stuff along those lines." Yamato explained.

"I guess what happened today would count as an altercation but do we have to give them a warning or something?" Keitaro questioned.

"I don't know." Yamato shrugged his shoulders.

"I think you should give them a warning and a scolding." Shinobu spoke up.

"That's a good idea. Good luck with that." Yamato gave Keitaro a pat on the back.

"You're going to help me with this. You're now officially an employee here." Keitaro stated.

"I don't remember accepting the job." Yamato countered.

"If you're not a tenant then what are you?" Keitaro asked.

"You're right. I was going to be an employee at that other inn anyway so why not take the job here." Yamato sighed.

"If only we knew a lawyer we'd be able to write proper warnings for Naru-sempai and Motoko-sempai." Shinobu frowned.

"Isn't that new girl Yui Kotegawa a law student?" Yamato remembered.

"I thought about that as well but she's still sorting out tetsukekin, shikikin and reikin with Haruka. She'll only move in tomorrow. This is a problem that needs to be sorted today." Keitaro replied.

"How about we just try talking to them?" Shinobu suggested.

"They won't listen to talking, we need to be firm and reprimand them." Keitaro declared.

"Again with this we. I don't think anyone one of them would listen to me." Yamato tried to explain.

"You're right. I'm the manager and I have to do this. It's my responsibility. But I don't think I can handle both of them and Kitsune. Just thinking about talking to Naru is taxing me this much." Keitaro became deflated.

"If you're going to be that way I guess I could help and handle Aoyama. We have a rapport, a very weak one but still." Yamato relented.

"Thank you so much!" Keitaro brightened up.

XXXXX

Keitaro knocked on Naru's door. He waited but there was no response. He knocked again and there was still no response.

"Naru, I'm coming in." Keitaro called out.

"No, I don't want you in here baka." Naru shouted.

"Regardless I'm still coming in." Keitaro said as he opened the door.

He was immediately confronted by the red head.

"I told you not to come in." Naru shrieked blocking his path.

"We have to talk." Keitaro responded.

"I don't have anything to say to you." Naru scoffed.

"You do have something to say. You have to explain why you went off like that outside the house." Keitaro demanded.

"I don't need to explain anything to you. Maybe you should get Mutsumi to explain it." Naru huffed.

"That doesn't even make sense but you better start explaining yourself." Keitaro said as he handed Naru an A4 page.

"What is this?" Naru asked looking at the page.

"Read it." Keitaro responded.

"This is a warning." Naru exclaimed stunned.

"Yes, after what you did today I had to do something. I can't go on just letting you run wild like that. As long as you stay here you can't do things like that." Keitaro responded.

"What's wrong with you? Urumi was the one who brought a man to an all girls dorm, you should be warning her." Naru screamed.

"Onizuka never entered the dorm, you stopped him remember." Keitaro retorted.

"This is ridiculous. I can't take this seriously." Naru sneered.

"I'm dead serious. I've had enough with this horrible, spoilt behavior. As the manager I'm putting my foot down." Keitaro raised his voice.

"I'm not spoilt! You don't know anything about me you baka." Naru shouted.

"Yes you are. You act like a spoilt brat because that's how my grandmother treated you." Keitaro yelled.

"You know nothing, I don't answer to you." Naru screamed.

"Yes you do. As long as you live here you will. I've been too lenient up till now!" Keitaro stated.

"You don't own this place. Granny still has the last say; I'm going to tell her about this blatant abuse of power." Naru threatened.

"Granny doesn't, she transferred ownership to me. I'm in charge here and I say you apologize to Urumi." Keitaro countered.

"No, I'm not going to apologize to her. She should apologize to me." Naru barked.

"Why?" Keitaro questioned.

"She tried to bring that gangster here to disrupt my world." Naru replied.

"You don't know anything about Onizuka, how could you say that?" Keitaro demanded to know.

"He forced Urumi not to go to Todai, that's all I need to know." Naru responded.

"She made that choice herself." Keitaro affirmed.

"No, that doesn't make sense. People don't decline Todai in this world." Naru refused to accept.

"You're not making any sense." Keitaro became frustrated.

"You wouldn't understand." Naru jeered.

"Just try me." Keitaro challenged.

"How could you even begin to understand me? I've been living here since junior high, ever since my family turned their back on me." Naru shouted.

"Your family loves you." Keitaro responded just as loud.

"No, my family doesn't know what love is. My mother left my father to marry another man. In one week I lost my father and got a step-father and step-sister who didn't want anything to do with me." Naru cried.

"They're still your family and they love you." Keitaro shouted.

"No, my mother gave up on her old family. Her new husband didn't need to take care of another daughter and Mei…" Naru sobbed.

"Are you even listening to yourself?" Keitaro grabbed Naru by her shoulders. "Your family loves you."

"No, they don't. No one loves me. They didn't, Seta didn't and…" Naru pushed Keitaro away. "…you don't." The last part was an inaudible whisper as she turned around.

Keitaro angrily grabbed the back of Naru's shirt holding her in place. "If your family doesn't care about you then answer me this. Why do they pay your rent? Why do they send you money? Why do they pay for your cram school? If they really are as heartless as you say then they would have left you to fend for yourself."

"They… They… They…" Naru couldn't come up with a valid excuse.

"You talk about them as if they were villains but in reality you're the one at fault. You don't call them. When they call, you only spend two or three minutes on the phone before excusing yourself. You're the one who abandoned them." Keitaro revealed that he knew all that.

"How would you understand? You could never understand." Naru yelled bitterly.

"You know Naru that your typical response is 'You don't understand' because you can't come up with an answer to what someone asks or says to you? Shows you how much of a coward you are. You're a coward because you NEVER take responsibility for a lot of things most notably your own wrongs and it's always someone else's fault even now you blame Urumi for your own blatant wrongs when the bottom line is she did absolutely nothing wrong! She should have the right to bring whoever she wants to this place be it a guy or a girl!" Keitaro shouted before leaving.

XXXXX

Yamato paced outside Motoko's room door. He was beginning to doubt if he could actually talk to someone so crazy. Keitaro had build up a lot of courage to talk to Naru and now he had to do the same. The thought came into his head; if Keitaro could man up and face Naru then he could do the same and handle Aoyama. This would be the perfect practice for facing Suzuka.

Yamato knocked on the door. He didn't get a response so knocked again with still no response. After a third time and no response he thought something must have happened. He quickly opened the door expecting something terrible but just saw Motoko sitting in the middle of her room.

She was sitting on her knees staring a white katana without a guard in front of her.

"Aoyama…" Yamato said sensing the eerie mood engulfing the room.

"I have to use Shisui. I need to use the strength of Shisui to rid us of that vile male." Motoko spoke ignoring Yamato.

"Aoyama, I have something for you." Yamato said waving around a page.

He carefully stepped into the room and cautiously approached her, setting the page down next to her before back tracking to a safe distance.

"You humiliated me." Motoko said getting up.

"I didn't." Yamato disputed.

"I didn't need a stupid man like you trying to help. It's degrading to the Shinmei-ryu School of Swordsmanship." Motoko shouted.

"You should be grateful." Yamato yelled.

"You just wanted to disgrace and humble me by making it seem like I couldn't defend myself." Motoko shrieked.

"No, where do you get these ideas from. I just wanted to protect you." Yamato retorted.

"Nonsense, no man would think that innocently. All men only seek to ruin women." Motoko screamed.

"Why do you hate men? It doesn't make sense! Nothing about you makes sense." Yamato shouted.

"Off course you wouldn't comprehend my ideals because I seek to protect women while you seek to defile them. I won't let another girl get taken away." Motoko declared.

"That's it. Someone got taken away from you, is that it? You lost someone to a man." Yamato quickly caught.

"My sister was the perfect sword master. She was strong, elegant, powerful and unforgiving. She was the perfect heir to Shinmei-ryu. She would have put our family back on top. I believed in her but then she left everything behind for a man. She got married and left Shinmei-ryu behind, she left me behind." Motoko gritted her teeth in rage.

"That doesn't sound like she was taken. That sounds like she chose to leave." Yamato replied.

"No, she was taken away from me by that horrible man. He filled her head with nonsense. He lied to her, he corrupted her, and he twisted her mind all so he could take her away and defile her." Motoko's voice came out low almost like a growl.

"Did you see him…?" Yamato questioned.

"No but he must have. There's no other explanation as to why she would abandon Shinmei-ryu and me." Motoko shouted.

"Have you ever thought that she was in love?" Yamato asked.

"She was the perfect samurai. She had no need for love." Motoko responded.

"She was a woman, no she was human. Off course she had those feelings." Yamato yelled.

"Don't talk about my sisters feelings you pervert!" Motoko shrieked getting in Yamato's face.

"Too close..." Yamato squeaked.

Motoko then retreated to her blade. "You were planning on doing something you bastard."

"I'm getting really tired of your issues. You were the one who got into my face." Yamato shouted.

"Just get out of my room. You have no business being here." Motoko pointed to the door.

"Yes I do. I came to serve you your warning for attacking Onizuka today." Yamato pointed to the page.

Motoko then picked up the page and read it.

"This is madness. I was not at fault. I was protecting Urumi from falling victim to the same tricks as my sister." Motoko screamed.

"No you were not. You selfishly were trying to impose your warped sense of the world on her." Yamato accused.

"It figures that a male like you would say that. After all you thrive on taking advantage of girls." Motoko insulted.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You're the one who's crazy. How can you think that? If that were true and no woman wanted to interact with a man they why do we have babies in this world. I'll tell you why, because people fall in love and they…" Yamato retorted but stopped when he saw Motoko's face get red and angry.

The crazed kendo girl picked up Shisui and raised the sword above her head. Before she could move Yamato was upon her. He grabbed her hands and held them tightly over the hilt of the katana preventing her from moving.

"Don't talk to me about that." Motoko spat.

"I wouldn't have to if you just listen to reason." Yamato responded.

"Let go of me you pervert." Motoko demanded.

"No. Not until you listen to me." Yamato stated.

"I don't have to do anything you say." Motoko refused.

"Yes you will." Yamato tightened his grip and raised his voice. "Think about the way you treated Shinobu and how you had treated Urumi, like they were objects not human beings with their own thoughts, desires and feelings."

"She was trapped with him. He was controlling her. I had to protect her. It was for her own good." Motoko shouted.

"Who the hell are you to decide what is for her own good and to say she needs protection? In reality your 'protection' is nothing more bullying and control! You try to impose your own skewed and childish views on a woman who is older then you and wiser and lives more in the real world then you ever have! Urumi will NOT allow you to control her life and take her away from her love. Don't try to hurt, bully and control her under the pretense of protecting her! Stop using the excuse of your sister getting married; it is childish and selfish because she was just moving on with her life." Yamato yelled.

"Don't preach to me like you understand. You don't know anything about how I feel. My sister decided she loved that vile male more than me. I hate men because he took my sister from me. He took away the only family that loved me." Motoko screeched.

"Do you want to talk about that?" Yamato stared down Motoko. "Tsuruko, Tsuruko Aoyama, that's your sister right."

"How did you know that?" Motoko demanded to know.

"I've been over this house books and Tsuruko Aoyama is the one who sends the cheque that covers your rent every month. Not Shinmei-ryu but Tsuruko Aoyama." Yamato shouted.

"That doesn't mean anything." Motoko turned away.

"Keitaro told me that she always pays your tuition fees and gives you an allowance." Yamato admitted.

"That bastard shouldn't go around talking about other people's private matters." Motoko scoffed.

"Just like you not getting involved with Urumi and Onizuka." Yamato sneered.

"I despise you. Just get out." Motoko screamed.

"No, not until I explain something to you." Yamato yelled. "Your sister is actually making an effort to reach out to you because she loves you. You're the one being selfish and keeping her at arm's length. I wish my family cared about me that much. My father thinks of me as a series of failures waiting to happen while my mother and siblings just go with his idea of me."

Yamato released Motoko from his grip causing her to tumble backwards and drop her blade. He then sighed deeply before leaving the room.

XXXXX

Keita and Akane sat in their living room filling out paper work. They struggled to fill out the forms until the doorbell rang. Keita opened the door and allowed the person inside. He was a middle aged man with black slicked back hair that was graying. He wore a pair of thin frame glasses and a fairly new brown suit.

"Detective Ishiyama." Akane greeted.

"Akane, I told you not to call me that. We're all childhood friends here." Ishiyama laughed.

"I'm glad you came. We need your help." Keita said.

"It sounded urgent on the phone." Ishiyama nodded.

"I hope we didn't call you away from any work." Akane worried.

"Don't worry about it, it's my break and I don't have any cases at the moment. My partner Detective Maeda will call me if anything comes up." Ishiyama replied.

"I see, thank you so much for coming here." Akane smiled.

"Let me just clear out all these bank forms." Keita said as he cleared the coffee table.

"What's the problem? Is Kanako in trouble?" Ishiyama questioned.

"Yes, you could say that. My mother-in-law is trying to take her away." Akane answered.

"Take her away?" Ishiyama replied confused.

"My mother is currently on a trip around the world and she wants to uproot Kanako and take her along." Keita explained.

"I see why that's a problem. Kanako has made so much progress towards adjusting in school. My daughter says that Kanako has really come out of her shell. She says it's like Sawako from Kimi ni Todoke, whatever that means." Ishiyama responded.

"We are really worried that Hina may try taking Kanako away when we're not around. Kanako feels heavily indebted and will go with Hina even if she doesn't want to." Akane worried.

"I can understand why you're worried. We all became friends because of that Inn." Ishiyama gritted his teeth.

"Hachiro and Junko were our best friends. When they died there was no doubt we would take care of their daughter. We all met at the Inn as children and my mother used to tell those stories to Kanako." Keita sighed.

"As much I hate to say I said I so, I warned you that your mother would use those stories to manipulate our children." Akane glared.

"Akane is still as scary as she was when she was a child." Ishiyama shuddered.

"I know. Do you any advice for us on what we can do?" Keita asked.

"You could call the Minors Bureau and lodge a complaint against her but I think it would better to just get a restraining order preventing Hina from contacting Kanako. I doubt a court would throw an old lady in jail but I'm sure they would fine her." Ishiyama suggested.

"A restraining order…" Keita mumbled.

"That's it. That's the only way to keep her away from Kanako. If Kanako misses just one week of school she'll fall behind badly." Akane said.

Keita just nodded. It would be tough trying to get a restraining order against his own mother but he would have to.

XXXXX

Kitsune sat on her bed rocking back and forth, a look of anxiety and fear etched on her face. She had been listening while Keitaro chewed out Naru and Yamato told off Motoko. She could feel the attention shifting to her.

Three knocks sounded on her door. She called out hoarsely and Keitaro entered the room. She had been planning this since she heard Keitaro and Naru. She wanted to make herself seem as vulnerable and broken as possible. She was going for an emotional wreck that was upset over what happened today.

"Kei-kun…" Kitsune whimpered.

"Kitsune, here." Keitaro said flatly handing her two pages.

Kitsune took the papers and read them. She scanned the pages once but couldn't believe it so she read it again and then a third time.

"What the hell?" Kitsune screamed.

"I thought you were an emotional wreck who was deeply sorry for what happened?" Keitaro raised an eyebrow.

"I am." Kitsune quickly tried to recover her façade.

"If you're going to make a devious plan to trick me, then you shouldn't discuss your plan out loud with yourself. Shinobu heard everything." Keitaro revealed.

"I see, you got me. I knew you were too smart to fall for this trick." Kitsune tried to change her plan.

"Kitsune, you've already received two warnings. Don't try any tricks, one more strike and you're out. Three of those and you're evicted." Keitaro pointed to the paper.

"Why do I have two, Naru and Motoko got one only." Kitsune questioned.

"One is for your role in the incident early and the other is for constantly paying your rent late." Keitaro answered.

"This is unfair. I shouldn't get two warnings." Kitsune tried to think of a way out of this predicament.

"Why?" Keitaro asked.

"You should give me a pre-warning. That would be enough." Kitsune smiled.

"You're not going to weasel your way out of things this time. Things are going to change in this house." Keitaro declared.

"How?" Kitsune gulped.

"Starting tomorrow alcohol is banned. So you have today to throw out all of your sake. Just in case you were thinking about drinking it all, being drunk around minors will get you another warning." Keitaro announced.

"This is completely unfair! You're just targeting me." Kitsune accused.

"No, Motoko won't be allowed to carry her bokken or sword and violence will lead to a warning." Keitaro responded.

"What has gotten into you? One new tenant and the power has gone to your head." Kitsune said frustrated.

"I'm not going to try arguing with you. I spent all my energy on Naru. When it comes to you the only one who can help you is yourself." Keitaro replied as he left.

"That bastard, he spent time on Naru and actually spoke to her. He thinks I'm a lost cause. He's given up on me." Kitsune gritted her teeth. "I'll show him. I'll be better than Naru and Motoko."

XXXXX

Keitaro waited outside the Hinata House. The night air was frosty to a point where his breath condensed upon leaving his mouth.

"Urumi, welcome back." Keitaro greeted as the blonde came back up the stairs this time without her boyfriend.

"Where are Naru and Motoko? I thought they be here waiting to lecture me and insult Onizuka." Urumi scoffed.

"I'm sorry about that. As the manager I should have handled the situation better than I did." Keitaro apologized.

"Yes, you should have." Urumi agreed.

"Naru and Motoko were way out of line earlier. They've been spoken to and punished. Mitsune who was also involved was also dealt with." Keitaro explained.

"How were they punished?' Urumi asked.

"They were given a warning that I have grounds to evict them and that should they repeat the offense they will be evicted." Keitaro answered leaving out the part about the screaming contests.

"I guess that's enough now but I want them to apologize to Onizuka and I when he comes back next week." Urumi stated.

"Yes, I will make sure they do." Keitaro replied.

"Thank you." Urumi sighed.

"If they give you any more trouble, let me know." Keitaro said.

Urumi just nodded.

XXXXX

**The Next Day.**

Yamato yawned as he and Keitaro waited at the base of the Hinata Stairs. They were expecting Yui Kotegawa to arrive anytime soon. The meticulous Todai student appeared pulling her large bags as Haruka walked beside her smoking.

"Thanks for all your help Haruka Nee-Chan." Yui huffed sarcastically.

"You're welcome." Haruka responded.

"Welcome to the Hinata House Kotegawa." Keitaro greeted.

"You don't need to be so formal Keitaro; we're like family after all. We both were subjected to Haruka's "Obasan" phase." Yui reminded.

"I remember. That was when Haruka was forcing us to call her Haruka Obasan." Keitaro remembered.

"What was that?" Haruka glared.

"You're too uptight about your age Haruka Nee-Chan." Yui laughed.

"You're a brave person for saying that." Keitaro laughed.

"Kids these are so disrespectful." Haruka scoffed jokingly.

The group then began moving up the stairs with Yamato and Keitaro helping Yui with her bags, she more than Urumi brought when the blonde arrived.

"Haruka says you're taking the upcoming Todai entrance exams." Yui tried to start a conversation.

"Yeah, I've already failed three times." Keitaro admitted.

"You must be really determined to get into Todai. I know a lot of people who went to other universities after failing just once." Yui replied.

"Haruka told me that you're studying law." Keitaro changed the topic.

"I am, soon I'll be a lawyer. If you're ever in legal trouble then I hope that I would be the first person you call." Yui laughed.

"You're not what Haruka described." Keitaro thought out loud.

"What did Haruka say?" Yui questioned.

"Haruka described you as an uptight and high-strung girl." Keitaro admitted.

"In my defense you are." Haruka shrugged her shoulders.

"I can't fault Haruka there. When I was in high school I was part of the disciplinary committee and adopted a strict, no nonsense, and totalitarian approach to keep order. I guess those became part of me after a while." Yui revealed.

"Wow, disciplinary committee. I never did anything worthwhile in high school." Keitaro sighed remembering his three years.

When they reached the top of the stairs they saw Motoko and Urumi both standing outside. The air between them was thick with tension. Keitaro feared for the worst that Motoko was going to try something crazy again.

Keitaro was about to drop the bags he was carrying and run towards them but Yamato stopped him. Keitaro remained in place watching the scene unfold.

Motoko did something that Keitaro didn't see coming. The proud kendo girl bowed before the blonde.

"I apologize for my unbecoming conduct yesterday." Motoko spoke.

Urumi remained silent. She was surprised the whole thing. Motoko had just followed her out of the house and stopped her. Urumi was expecting another confrontation not an apology.

"I had no right to try and pry into your life. I made baseless accusations about you and your boyfriend. I shouldn't have done that and I apologize." Motoko finished.

"I'm surprised. After what happened yesterday I wasn't expecting this." Urumi replied surprised. "But I can't even consider forgiving you until you apologize to Eikichi."

Motoko winched at the statement but nodded understandingly. The kendo girl then turned and walked into the building.

"Hey Keitaro, I'm going to leave these bags in the room we prepared for Kotegawa." Yamato said as he dashed into the house.

When the young sprinter darted passed her, then only Urumi realized that there were other people around.

"What's going on?" Urumi asked.

"A new tenant is moving in." Keitaro explained.

"Hello, I'm Yui Kotegawa. Pleased to meet you." Yui greeted.

"Hi, I'm Urumi Kanzaki, nice to meet you." Urumi responded.

"I'm going inside." Haruka said walking passed them.

"Wait up for me." Yui said as she followed.

"Well, I'll see you. I need to show Kotegawa to her room." Keitaro explained as he gave chase.

Urumi just smiled as she walked down the stairs.

XXXXX

**Reservation fee (tetsukekin), Security Deposit (shikikin) and Key money (reikin) all form part of the deposit that Yui paid when renting her room.**

**Thanks triviatrap198 with regard to suggestion and help with the restraining order. **

**Big thanks to Grey Wolf4 for his help with writing the confrontation with Naru and Motoko.**

**Thanks for reading and I hoped you enjoyed it. Let me know what you thought about it.**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Sorry this chapter took so long. Campus started again so I'm really busy so there will be delays between chapters.**

**XXXXX**

**Chapter 9 **

Hina left the airport and leisurely strolled towards her hired town car as her driver loaded her luggage into the back of the car. As she walked to the car she was greeted by a familiar face.

"I can't believe it. Hayate Ishiyama, you've grown up quite a bit." Hina marveled.

"Hinata Urashima, it has been a long time. Could we talk?" Ishiyama asked pointing to a nearby bench.

The elderly woman nodded and followed the detective over to the bench.

"How was your trip around the world?" Ishiyama questioned.

"It was amazing. I got to try many different types of onsen and buy lots of occult trinkets." Hina gleefully answered.

"So I take the fact that you're back means your world tour has ended." Ishiyama insinuated.

"No, it's far from over." Hina replied. "I came back to get my granddaughter."

"You mean Kanako?" Ishiyama replied a bit surprised.

"Yes, Kanako is going to come with me." Hina clarified.

"I don't see how that would work. Kanako is still in school." Ishiyama tried to explain.

"Kanako doesn't need to go to school. I'll teach her everything she needs to know on our trip." Hina revealed.

"I don't think 'lessons from your grandmother' would cut it on a college application." Ishiyama joked.

"My Kanako doesn't need to go to college. She's going to be an inn owner and follow in my footsteps." Hina declared.

"My daughter told me that Kanako wants to become an actress." Ishiyama said.

"Kanako is still young and confused; she doesn't know what she wants." Hina responded.

"And you do?" Ishiyama retorted.

"Off course I do. I'm her grandmother." Hina answered.

"I can understand you wanting to treat Kanako but think about the situation you're putting her in. She's in her final year of high school and if she misses even a week she'll fall way behind." Ishiyama warned.

"Our trip is going to last a lot longer than one week." Hina corrected.

"Then that'll be worse for Kanako. She's a bright girl. You should just let her be. I'm sure if she carries on at school like she is, she'll be able to get into college without needing cram school." Ishiyama spoke.

"I don't understand why people are obsessed with college. I didn't go to college and I turned out just fine." Hina sighed. "Kanako won't learn about life at college, I'll teach her about the real world. She'll be thankful for it."

"Did you ask Kanako about it?" Ishiyama inquired.

"No but she'll definitely say yes." Hina replied confidently.

"I see, because you're some one Kanako looks up to and she feels grateful to you." Ishiyama nodded.

"Kanako will see when I explain things to her that I'm right." Hina smiled.

"Have you thought about Kanako's feelings at all?" Ishiyama asked solemnly.

"I'm her grandmother. I understand. Kanako is just a child and doesn't know her true feelings. I will help her find them." Hina answered.

"You don't understand your granddaughter at all. Kanako was always a very shy and introverted child. The only person she opened up to was Keitaro. She only became friends with my daughter because Akane and Keita are my friends. Kanako went through elementary, middle and the first two years of high school without friends. This year's she tried to open up more. She began participating in activities and made lots of friends. If you take her away she might go back to being introverted." Ishiyama explained.

"She doesn't need does people as her friends. I'll be her friend and then she'll be reunited with Keitaro when they run the inn together." Hina scoffed.

Ishiyama sighed and reached into his coat pocket. He pulled out what looked like a digital recorder and pressed stop.

"What is that?" Hina questioned.

"Exactly what it looks like, it's a digital recorder." Ishiyama answered.

"Why would you be recording our conversation?" Hina asked.

"I'm going to give you a warning. Stay away from Akane, Keita and Kanako. Don't disrupt their lives for your own enjoyment. My dad used to be your friend. He always warned us that you were manipulative." Ishiyama replied.

"I see. The son takes after the father." Hina sneered. "I see even though you took your mothers last name you still take after your father, Hanataro."

"I didn't believe him completely until now." Ishiyama retorted.

"This conversation is over." Hina said as she got up and left.

Once Hina had gotten into her town car and was gone, Ishiyama pulled out his phone.

"Hey Keita, Akane said you were having trouble with the burden of proof with your restraining order. Don't worry about it anymore. Your old friend has your back." Ishiyama laughed looking at the digital recorder in his hand.

XXXXX

Keitaro could feel the lump in his throat. It was as if he had swallowed a tennis ball. Nerves were taking hold of him as clutched his pencil tightly. He was sitting in the testing room of Todai. This was fourth time he was sitting here but now he was more nervous.

Something was different this time. The first three times he sat to write this exam he sat with the purpose of passing so he could get into Todai and meet his promise girl. Now however he was writing the exam for himself. He had secretly vowed to himself that this would be his last attempt. Now he was writing this exam with his pride on the line.

He closed his eyes and concentrated on the words of encouragement he had been given earlier in the day.

"_The best way to manage stress and anxiety around exam time is to be as prepared as possible." Yui advised._

"_Don't get distracted and dream about the future. Concentrate on the paper in front of you." Yamato scolded._

"_I know you can do it sempai. I believe in you!" Shinobu cheered._

"_Whatever, good luck dork." Sarah scoffed._

"_What's a Todai entrance exam? Is it tasty?" Su questioned._

"_Don't try any funny business in the exam room. You've study a lot." Motoko sneered._

"_Do your best kid." Haruka smiled._

"_The exam is easy; it only gets hard when you think it's hard." Urumi warned._

The morning had been eventful with everyone trying to psych him and Naru up for the exam. Keitaro was surprised that Motoko wished him luck in her own way after everything that happened. The kendo girl slowly began adjusting after Yamato gave her a wakeup call. Naru was adjusting but at a rate much slower than Motoko's.

Keitaro shook his head violently. He didn't need distracting thoughts in his head now.

He opened the paper and looked at the first questioned. He was almost defeated then and there but quickly regained his composure and calmed down. He slowly reread the question and began breaking it down to solve in parts.

As Keitaro went slow and steady, Naru who by providence was seated next to him was tearing through the exam like a possessed machine. The red head was solely focused on passing and that steely determination was practically visible to everyone in the room.

Panic began to enter Keitaro as his writing hand trembled. What was wrong with him? He was falling victim to a curse all examinees were familiar with. That horrible feeling you get when you seem to be the only person in the exam who's stuck.

"_Baka, what are you doing? If you're stuck don't waste all your time on one question. Move on and then come back!" Naru's harsh words from months ago echoed in his head. _

"_When I get stuck I like to do a question I know I can answer. It helps me feel more confident in my skills." Mutsumi's advice lingered in Keitaro's mind._

Keitaro then paged through the questions until he found one he was convinced he could answer and he was right. He knew every step in solving the problem and the sinking feeling of failure that hung on him before was gone.

Naru was already gone through three-quarters of the exam while Keitaro was still half way done. Time would prove to be his worst enemy. The difference between the two was that Naru was writing short, concise and to the point answers while Keitaro was quoting everything he could remember from the text books.

Even though Naru wasn't supposed to she looked over at Keitaro and saw him falling into one of his old habits. She bit her lip to forget about him and continue. The truth was even though she was working like a machine and flying through the paper her entire mind wasn't focused on it.

A small part of her mind was lost in thought. The thought of Urumi and Onizuka. It took a few hours after Keitaro chewed her out but she realized she was wrong. Now she knew she had to apologize but she didn't know how. The longer she waited the harder it got. It was a dragging feeling to know she was wrong but too proud to admit it.

Keitaro could hear Naru's pen slow down. He didn't think anything of it since she had so much time. He on the other hand was barely keeping up with the recommended time.

Keitaro then fell into a trap of his own making. Negatives thoughts invaded his mind, he began imagining what would happen if he failed the exam. He could picture Naru and Mutsumi walking confidently through the gates of Todai as official students while he loitered in the far distance.

The day dreaming examinee then began punching himself in the head. He was able to snap back into reality while only losing five minutes to the lapse in concentration. Taking deep breaths he dove back into the exam.

XXXXX

Keitaro, Naru and Mutsumi walked up the stairs to the house. There was some distance between the three of them because of their contrasting feeling about the exam. When they reached the top they saw Shinobu, Yamato, Yui and Motoko waiting outside to meet them.

"How was the exam?" Yamato yelled hoping for a positive response.

"I'm an idiot." Keitaro mumbled.

"Was it that bad Otohime?" Yamato asked.

"I'm not sure. I felt that it was alright." Mutsumi replied confused.

"How about you Naru?" Motoko asked.

"This one was easier than the last." Naru responded.

"I did it again. I start day dreaming during the exam." Keitaro sobbed as he grabbed Yamato's shoulders.

"Even after we did all that practice to prevent it." Yamato wept.

The girls just stared at the crying males unsure of what to do or what was even happening in the first place.

"This is really awkward watching you two cry." Yui spoke up.

"I'm sorry. I don't want to bring you guys down." Keitaro apologized. "After all Naru and Mutsumi did well today."

"You should have more confidence in yourself. Writing out large chunks of stuff straight from the text shows you lack confidence in your ability to answer the question." Naru said off handedly before entering the house.

"Naru just gave you a good piece of advice. You should think about it." Yui noted.

"Yeah, I will." Keitaro nodded.

"Sempai, Mutsumi, come inside. I've prepared some special food for you guys." Shinobu said excitedly as she led them in.

The young chef led them to the living room where a spread of snacks was set up. There was a variety of fish, roasted almonds, blue berry pastries and different egg dishes.

"Tada, I've prepared some brain food for you. I even made some for Naru-sempai but she went straight to her room." Shinobu revealed.

"You have a heart of gold." Keitaro smiled as he ruffled Shinobu's hair.

Motoko saw this and had it been a few weeks ago she would have buried Keitaro with a kendo strike but now she held herself back and began inhaling and exhaling deeply.

Everyone present began eating and praising Shinobu for her unbelievable skill of turning normal food into something amazing.

XXXXXX

The night brought with it a chilling wind that drove temperatures down. In this cold whether Naru and Keitaro both locked themselves away in their rooms doing some last minute revising before turning in early.

Motoko stood on the terrace were she would normal practice her kendo. She did nothing but just stand there. Since she was banned from carrying and using her bokken or sword in or around the house she felt an empty feeling.

"Motoko-sempai, it's really cold outside. I think you should come inside." Shinobu said joining the kendo girl.

"I'm fine. I just want to spend some time training my body." Motoko replied.

"Oh I see." Shinobu shivered.

"Shinobu, can I ask you something?" Motoko inquired.

Shinobu nodded.

"Did I bully you?" Motoko asked.

"You tried to force me to see the world the way you did. Everything you said made me too shy to even talk to boys my age." Shinobu answered.

"I'm sorry Shinobu. I never really meant to force you into anything. I was a disgrace of a warrior." Motoko apologized.

"You improved." Shinobu smiled. "You apologized to Urumi the other day and now me."

"Still I'm very sorry." Motoko repeated.

"I've always looked up to you and Naru-sempai. I wanted big sisters that were beautiful like you two." Shinobu admitted.

"We were wrong in the way we treated you." Motoko revealed. "We didn't acknowledge how mature you were. We only saw you as a child but we were wrong."

"I feel really happy with you saying that." Shinobu blushed.

"You're really amazing. You cook, clean and even do the girls laundry. Thinking about it, I can't believe how stupid I was to treat you as a child." Motoko complimented.

"You're being too kind." Shinobu mumbled red.

"I really want us to start over, our friendship." Motoko said embarrassed.

"Really?" Shinobu blinked surprised.

"When I came here my eyes were closed and I couldn't see the world and the people in for what they really were. After getting scolded by that guy and then having Keitaro impose all those rules, has given me something to think about." Motoko confessed.

"I would really like to get to know a Motoko-sempai who doesn't run around swinging her bokken and screaming pervert every time she saw a man." Shinobu giggled.

"I guess I really was crazy." Motoko sighed.

"You're very beautiful Motoko-sempai and now that you're not against men I'm sure you could find a boyfriend." Shinobu suggested.

"Slow down Shinobu, baby steps. I still need to make friends that are boys." Motoko admitted self-conscious.

"What about Yamato and Sempai?" Shinobu questioned.

"Keitaro and his cousin are only friendly with me because they have to be." Motoko sighed.

"I don't believe that. I'm sure they think of you as a friend." Shinobu said with steely determination.

"I doubt it. I've beaten and blasted Keitaro so many times with my bokken and I've been nothing but mean to his cousin." Motoko murmured.

"Then you should apologize to them." Shinobu proposed.

"I've never apologized sincerely to a male before." Motoko hunched over.

"That can't be true." Shinobu questioned.

"It is. Even if I was at fault I never apologized because I believed all males were vile, perverts so they didn't deserve an apology." Motoko explained. "So I just said the words without meaning it because I was forced to."

"Then I'll help. I'll support you during this first." Shinobu cheered.

Motoko smiled as she looked at the young chef. The kendo girl couldn't believe how blind she was to miss the fact that Shinobu was her own person and a very kind, caring and mature person at that.

XXXXX

**The next day**

It was approaching midday and Yamato and Honoka sat in small restaurant having lunch. They were having burger and fries with milkshakes.

"You look so distracted, is everything alright?" Honoka asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just worried about my cousin. He studied so hard for the Todai exam but he keeps losing himself whenever he writes the exam." Yamato sighed.

"I'm glad you haven't changed. You're still the same kind person you were." Honoka smiled.

"What would make you think that I would change?" Yamato changed.

"I don't know. When you suddenly moved I thought it was because you changed." Honoka admitted.

"You don't have to worry about me changing. If you go by Asahina and her rumors, I'm an immature brat who's never going to grow up." Yamato laughed.

"I'm sorry about that. I've tried to get people to stop but they don't listen to me." Honoka admitted sadly.

"Honoka, I'm really sorry." Yamato apologized.

"What are you saying sorry for?" Honoka replied bewildered.

"I only cause you problems. We went out and things ended badly because I still had feeling for Asahina. Then because of me, you and your boyfriend broke up." Yamato explained.

"I never did tell you what happened." Honoka stated.

"You don't have if you don't want to." Yamato responded.

"I do. He was a guy at work and older than me by seven years. He asked me out and I said yes." Honoka began.

"I knew most of this." Yamato nodded.

"The company I work for actually frowns upon interoffice relationships. It was doomed from the start. Then after things ended he started spreading rumors about me." Honoka confessed.

"That bastard." Yamato muttered.

"It wasn't as bad I thought it would be. The people at work knew he was lying and didn't believe him. The rumors got to human recourses though and I did get a warning." Honoka finished with a smile. "I was still happy though because I was surprised that I had actual friends at work."

"What's with the smile?" Yamato asked.

"I'm glad I made the right decision in the end. I'm glad I chose to be your friend." Honoka explained.

"I'm glad you made that decision too." Yamato smirked.

"Have you thought about which university you would be attending?" Honoka questioned. "I'm sorry if I'm being too nosey."

"No, it's alright. I haven't picked yet. I have a solid recommendation for Tohto University. Seijo University will give a place if I can pass the time trials." Yamato replied.

"You're hiding something. You've got that guilty look on your face." Honoka noted.

"Damn you're good. I also got a full offer from Tokyo University." Yamato confessed.

"That's amazing. Tokyo University is one of the best in the country. Everyone must be so excited for you." Honoka cheered.

"You're the first person I've told." Yamato laughed nervously.

"Why?" Honoka questioned.

"I couldn't just broadcast that I'm getting into Tokyo University. Keitaro's been trying so hard for years. If I told him about the offer it would seem like rubbing it in his face." Yamato sighed. "I'm going to tell him once he passes the entrance exam."

"You're being really considerate." Honoka replied. "But is that it?"

"I don't follow." Yamato stared blankly.

"Maybe not saying anything is your way of not facing reality. I'm scared about moving on from high school as well. I know you made a big move to come to high school all the way from Hiroshima. Things didn't go well then and now you're scared that your next big step in life will be the same." Honoka answered.

Yamato stared the girl absorbing everything she had said. Slowly her words began setting in.

XXXXXX

Keitaro walked through Tokyo searching for somewhere to drown his sorrows and he found it in a small bar. It was out of the way but still good enough to be considered safe. He took up one of the many empty stools at the empty bar counter.

As he began sipping a beer he was joined by a blonde.

"If this is what you're teaching Yamato at that Inn then we're going to have a problem." Yuka warned as she pulled up a seat.

"Look who's talking. From what Yamato has told me about you, you shouldn't be talking." Keitaro retorted.

"You've got some fire in your belly. Did something happen?" Yuka asked as she ordered a beer.

"I just came here after writing the Todai entrance exam." Keitaro answered.

"I took that exam and failed. It was ridiculously hard. I can understand wanting to drink away the troubles." Yuka nodded.

"The thing is I think I passed." Keitaro confessed.

"You don't look like someone who passed one of the hardest entrance exams in the country." Yuka pointed out.

"The thing is, I've been trying so hard to get into Todai and failing that I never gave anything thought into what I'd do once I got in." Keitaro explained.

"That doesn't make sense. Then why would you try so hard to get in?" Yuka questioned.

"That's actually really embarrassing." Keitaro replied.

"Let me buy you a round and we'll see if that loosens your tongue." Yuka laughed.

After a few beers Keitaro then spilled the beans on his promise to go to Todai.

"You're killing me man. You actually tried to keep a promise made between children that you barely remember." Yuka laughed. "I'm sorry for laughing."

"No, it's okay. You're just emphasizing how I feel. I wasted so much of my life obsessing over something so nonsensical." Keitaro said.

"Now you're in a tough spot." Yuka understood. "You lack direction in life."

"I thought I would do archeology but that's not me. That life isn't what I want for myself." Keitaro admitted.

"You have to live for yourself. Decide on something and go through with it and have no regrets. I was in love with a guy from my high school and over the years I've confessed to him sixteen times. The last time I confessed he told me that he was engaged. I wasn't as hurt as I thought I would be. My resolve kept me intact." Yuka yelled her pep talk.

"That's exactly what I lack. A firm resolve." Keitaro sighed.

"I think a few more beers and you may get one." Yuka laughed.

"I can't. I made a rule of it being inappropriate to be drunk in the house. I can't show up drunk. I'd lose all credibility." Keitaro responded.

"That's sad. I was really bored and hoping for something interesting to happen." Yuka grumbled.

"Why don't you hang out with your friend?" Keitaro asked.

"Megumi has a part time job that she needs to get up early for tomorrow." Yuka mumbled.

"What about you?" Keitaro asked.

"I'm on a permanent vacation, forced retrenchment at the call center I was working at. Last in first out." Yuka laughed.

"Here I am complaining about my problem like a baby." Keitaro mumbled.

"Don't worry about it, I can find another job. I'm not very fussy. You have to man up now and decide on your future. Yamato looks up to you and I don't want him picking up on your indecisiveness." Yuka pointed out.

"Yeah, he's going to be very surprised if I passed. Nobody in my family thought I would do it except him but he still had doubts." Keitaro chuckled.

"I can see why your family wouldn't believe in you when you're so wishy-washy." Yuka joked.

"I feel really bad for putting them under so much pressure. I caused them a lot of trouble, emotionally and financial while I was chasing after Todai." Keitaro confessed.

"If that's weighing on your chest then you should apologize. Even if they're still mad at you afterwards you'll feel better about yourself." Yuka advised.

"That's a good idea. Once the Todai results come out I'll go and apologize no matter what result I get." Keitaro declared.

"I thought you were sure you passed." Yuka raised an eyebrow.

"I also thought I passed the last one but ended up failing." Keitaro laughed nervously rubbing the back of his head.

"You're such an idiot." Yuka smiled.

"And you're a much nicer person than I thought." Keitaro laughed.

"What exactly are you getting at?" Yuka accused.

"Nothing but I think you've had a bit too much to drink." Keitaro countered.

"You're right." Yuka nodded. "After drinking you should always follow up with karaoke!"

"Good luck with that." Keitaro smirked.

"Great, I know the perfect place." Yuka exclaimed as she paid the bartender before grabbing Keitaro and dragging him with her.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Hayate Ishiyama handed over a thin folder containing documents and transcripts to the Superintendent of his department, an old man by the name of Hisashi. Hisashi had thinning black hair and a small moustache. Like all the high ranking officers he wore a charcoal grey suit. The two were meeting in the Superintendent's office.

"Detective, I thought I already told you about this. I'm not going to waste police resources helping your friends in a family dispute." Hisashi sighed.

"This time I have proof that Hinata Urashima is planning to take her granddaughter away by any means necessary." Ishiyama explained.

Hisashi reluctantly took the folder and examined the contents.

"All I see here is a protection order because of a family dispute. This is a far cry from a conspiracy to kidnap a minor. This is something for the Minors Bureau and family court." Hisashi scolded.

"We've already been to family court, that's where we got the protection order. Hinata Urashima didn't even bother showing up. She just sent a letter that said this whole thing was a waste of time and that a protection order meant nothing." Ishiyama exclaimed.

"When this old lady violates the protection order then we can talk but as of right now I'm ordering you to stay out of this matter. You're part of the Police Force; you shouldn't be abusing your authority in a small family squabble." Hisashi shouted.

"I never abused my authority." Ishiyama denied the claim.

Hisashi then tossed Ishiyama a letter. "That's a letter of complaint from Hinata Urashima and her lawyer. She alleges you used your authority as a police detective to coerce statements out of her that you then used to obtain a protection order. She doesn't have any proof but I'm warning you."

"This is complete nonsense. She's using it as a smoke screen to distract us from the real matter. She's trying to get me off the case." Ishiyama rationalized.

"There is no case and even if there was you wouldn't be on it because you're too close to the Urashima family." Hisashi retorted.

"Superintendent, please think about this for a minute. How does an old woman who ran a failing inn have the money to travel the world over? Doesn't that strike you as suspicious?" Ishiyama spoke up.

"Maybe she made some very good investments?" Hisashi wasn't having any of it.

"Or maybe it was something illegal." Ishiyama replied.

"This is just more speculation. If you keep up with this craziness then I will be forced to take action against you." Hisashi warned.

"We're the police; we're supposed to protect people who need it. This girl could have her whole future destroyed because of her grandmother's selfish decisions. You're a parent." Ishiyama made one last plea.

"Fine, I will indulge this theory but you won't have any part in it." Hisashi yielded. "You're too close and you have more important cases to be working on."

Just then there was a knock on the door. A young detective then walked into the office and delivered the Superintendent's coffee.

"Detective Makoto Doumoto…" Hisashi called out as the young man was leaving.

Makoto was a young man in his twenties with black medium-length hair tucked behind his ears and wearing thin framed glasses. He was typing into his cell phone when he stopped just outside the office.

"Yes sir." Makoto replied putting his cell phone away.

"Take this file; this will be your first solo case. I want you to assess whether Hinata Urashima presents a threat to Kanako Urashima." Hisashi explained.

Slightly confused about being given a case, Makoto took the folder containing the information and left.

"You gave him the case." Ishiyama muttered once Makoto was gone.

"What's wrong with that?" Hisashi asked.

"That kid just joined the department. He has minimal experience and no drive. All he does is sit at his desk filing paperwork and fiddling with his cell phone. You should assign another detective to it." Ishiyama answered.

"I'm not going to waste a detective who's busy on this. Now stay out of the matter or else." Hisashi cautioned as he pointed to the door.

XXXXX

Underneath the Hinata House in one of the many unused rooms, Su and Sarah gathered. The room Su 'found' had no lights and was only illuminated by a few candles.

"What are we doing here?" Sarah asked.

"I officially declare the 'Secret Brotherhood Sect for the Capture of Turtles' meeting to commence." Su declared.

"You were serious about this whole thing." Sarah sighed.

"In order to capture the beast, we have to think like it. We have to get inside its mind." Su shouted.

"It's just a turtle. It shouldn't be that hard." Sarah laughed.

"This isn't a normal turtle this is a monster. Even Motoko is scared of it. This fiendish demon is able to fly, capable of reaching a top speed of 60kph, he can also write, practice mathematics, is skilled in self defense and can communicate with humans." Su warned.

"When you say it like that then I can't help but be interested." Sarah cheered.

"Our advisory is crafty. Normal capture techniques won't work. I dare say it is as smart as us." Su sighed.

"The word is adversary not advisory and I think you are giving that turtle a bit too much credit." Sarah chuckled.

"Do you remember that Placement exam in Japanese Proficiency?" Su questioned.

"I remember failing it." Sarah mumbled.

"I'm pretty sure if I gave the same test to the turtle he would beat you." Su nodded.

"That's complete rubbish. There's no way a turtle would score higher than me." Sarah refused.

"You scored one of the lowest possible scores." Su reminded.

"You were the one who tutored me for that test!" Sarah screamed.

"I taught you everything I knew." Su boasted.

"You knew nothing; you told me the capital of Japan was Mexico. I wrote that in the exam!" Sarah retorted.

"It isn't?" Su asked.

"It's Tokyo! Tokyo! You know the university that Naru and dork are trying to get into." Sarah answered.

"Oh that's just one mistake, everything else was spot on." Su gloated.

"Nothing you thought me was right. The kanji you thought me wasn't even Japanese. The teacher couldn't even identify it." Sarah yelled.

"We're getting off topic. We came here for a meeting not to dwell on the past." Su laughed.

"You're the one who's off." Sarah mumbled.

"One day soon, one day soon I will defeat the tyrant beast and feast upon its flesh in victory!" Su began laughing evilly.

"This is all so you can have Turtle soup isn't it." Sarah sighed.

XXXXX

Hina sat having lunch in small café with her lawyer, Shinji Aoba. He was a man in his late forties. He was balding but still slicked back what remained of his hair with oil. He wore a blue suit with a white tie. He was an ambulance chaser; not exactly an attorney to write home about but when it came underhanded tactics he was the best.

"Here, this is the protection order the judge granted against you." Shinji handed Hina the papers.

"That judge must be senile to think I'm a danger to Kanako." Hina scoffed.

"If you listened to me and attended the hearing things might have turned out differently." Shinji reprimanded.

"Don't go telling me what to do. I'm the one who's paying you." Hina reminded.

"Fine, whatever. I appealed the protection order but I doubt it will end in our favor." Shinji sighed.

"I'm paying you for results. You are the best at what you do. Do something to make this go away. I want my granddaughter with me." Hina demanded.

"Listen Hinata, I'm overly intrusive in instigating or encouraging prosecution of groundless litigation or bringing repeated acts of litigation for the purposes of profit or harassment but that cost extra." Shinji revealed.

"I have the money to pay whatever it takes. Have you taken care of that problem detective?" Hina questioned.

"Please don't phrase it like that." Shinji muttered. "But yes, I sent the complaint to the department. It's completely baseless but I'm currently working on finding people who he has arrested. Once I find them I'll get them to file similar complaints."

"I feel bad about doing this but Hayate brought this on himself. He should not be messing in private family affairs. He needs to be thought a lesson." Hina replied.

"My sources in the department tell me that the superintendent laid into Ishiyama for his persistence in this matter. Right now this is still a civil matter so the police aren't going to get fully involved, let's keep it that way. Don't do anything stupid Hinata." Shinji warned.

"What do you mean by fully? Why is the police bothering with me trying to take care of my granddaughter?" Hinata questioned.

"I'm not sure as to the reasoning but the superintendent did assign a young detective to your case just to report in on the family and make sure you don't violate the order. You will be arrested if you violate the order." Shinji explained.

"I'm not afraid of a stupid piece of paper. I'm her grandmother and I should be allowed to see her. I'm not going to listen to some senile judge." Hina remained defiant.

"Listen to me you old bag of bones, if you get arrested they will look into your life. I can't be the only one who finds it suspicious that an old woman who ran a failing inn has your kind of money. Frankly I don't care how illegal your funds are but if you get arrested and they freeze your assets I'm not going to get paid." Shinji tore into her.

"You better watch your mouth you brat. I've been running the block since you crawling in your diapers. I know how to handle myself. You just do your job and bury Hayate in complaints and destroy his reputation once that happens the court will have no choice but to throw out the recording." Hina retorted.

"Just remember, this plan of mine is going to cost you some big bucks." Shinji glared.

"Don't worry about it. I have the funds." Hina replied as she slid a brown envelope across the table.

XXXXXX

Kitsune sat nervously as she waited in the editor's office of a small Tokyo newspaper. The editor was currently going over her curriculum vitae. She was anxious because of the details were not one hundred percent true.

"I'm impressed; you're a sake tasting expert." The editor noted as he read.

"I don't really drink a lot but when it comes to fragrance, impact, sweetness or dryness, acidity, presence, earthiness, tail and profiles I'm your girl." Kitsune smiled.

"With this kind of CV I think you qualify to be interviewed." The editor nodded.

"Thank you, ask me anything." Kitsune agreed.

"What is your greatest strength?" The editor inquired.

Kitsune paused as she thought about saying scamming and lying but decided to reword. "My greatest strength is the ability to do anything necessary to accomplish a goal."

"How would you describe yourself?"

Kitsune knew she was a lazy drunk who loved to party with almost no morals, this time she would need stretch the truth even more. "I'm a people person. I really enjoy meeting and working with a lot of different people. I'm the kind of person who doesn't judge."

"Describe your work style." The editor was really interested now.

Kitsune's work style was almost nonexistent and consisted of getting others to do it for her. "I'm efficient and a brilliant leader who's skilled at delegating duties."

"Normally I would continue the interview but with the answers you've already given me and this Resume I don't think that would be necessary." The editor chuckled.

"So does this mean I get the job?" Kitsune asked excited.

"It'll come down to this one last question." The editor replied. "You haven't worked for a long time, why is that?"

"Well you see I was working quite happily as a freelance writer for a long time. It worked for me. Things were going well until the market hit a few bumps and papers decided to would be more feasible to use internally produced work." Kitsune replied. "My landlord is really cracking down on rent now so I decided to get back to working."

"I can understand, we also had to cut off all our freelance writers. With the way things are now people don't read newspapers anymore. They prefer reading online." The editor sighed.

Kitsune just nodded unsure of how to reply to that.

"Well Mistune Konno, welcome to the staff. Someone with your skill level and experience should be able to help us gain back some off lost readership. Normally I would give newbie's grunt work but we can't waste talent like yours. I want you to out there reporting." The editor declared.

"Thank you so much!" Kitsune smiled as she shook his hand. The fox began thinking that she may have over sold herself. She was hoping and praying she could live up to the image she created.

XXXXX

Mutsumi sliced away blissfully unaware she was being watched. The anemic girl cut the watermelon before her into tiny bits and pieces with no effort.

"That was terrifying." Haruka mumbled.

"Oh Haruka, what are you doing here?" Mutsumi asked.

"Eh, Mutsumi, you're in the kitchen of my tea shop. I should be asking you that." Haruka responded.

"Oh my, you're right. I'm sorry." Mutsumi apologized as she looked around. "I was coming by to visit you when I got hungry and decided to prepare some watermelon."

"It figures. When it comes to watermelon you tend to lose focus." Haruka sighed.

"I am a bit of a ditz." Mutsumi smiled. "Have some watermelon."

The girl from Okinawan held out a tray of cubed watermelon.

"Thanks." Haruka tasted the small piece of fruit. "What did you want to see me about?"

"I did really well on the entrance exam this time and I think I passed." Mutsumi exclaimed.

"That's great news. I know you really studied hard. You would have gotten in a long time ago if you weren't so sickly." Haruka replied.

"I know. This time I have to thank you for everything you did." Mutsumi bowed.

"I didn't really do anything." Haruka blushed.

"When my apartment was damaged you gave me a place to stay. You also made sure I watched my health. You did a lot for me." Mutsumi cried out.

"You don't have to thank me so much. You could call it repaying a favor." Haruka smiled.

"I don't understand." Mutsumi tilted her head.

"My brother, I mean uncle Keita told me all about it since I was too young to remember. Your family used to work at the inn, you know that." Haruka responded.

"I vaguely remember it, yes." Mutsumi nodded.

"My mother, Granny Hina, never raised us. She was always too busy with this and that. It was a member of the Otohime family that really raised us. I think she's your aunt if I'm not mistaken. Rin Otohime was the woman who really took care of us. I guess you could say taking care of you was my way of repaying that." Haruka explained.

"Rin baa-chan always used to talk about how she took care of a child who was an absolute terror." Mutsumi laughed.

"That terror would my real mother. My real mother was Hina's daughter. She was born twelve years before Keita. When my mother was eighteen she had me and died in a car accident with my father when I was a few months old. Granny Hina adopted me and that's why Keita and I grew up as siblings." Haruka clarified.

"Oh, I always wondered about that. I'm sorry for saying that about your mum." Mutsumi apologized.

"You don't have to apologize. I know from the stories that my mother was an absolute rebel who fought against Hina on every simple thing." Haruka chuckled. "I guess in an effort not to become like my real mother I became completely obedient to Hina."

"I'm sorry. Because of me you had to bring up your past and now you're feeling bad." Mutsumi apologized again.

"Stop apologizing already." Haruka laughed. "We all have to face our past or we can't move onto our future."

"You're right about that. I should face my past and tell Keitaro the truth." Mutsumi declared.

"What are you talking about?" Haruka asked.

"Oh, I was just thinking I should tell Keitaro the truth about his Tokyo U promise." Mutsumi answered.

XXXXX

The Urashima family gathered in their living room for tea. Kanako and Keita were sipping the steaming hot beverage while Akane examined the protection order for the hundredth time.

"You've read that thing enough times to recite it by heart. I think you should put it down." Keita suggested.

"You're right. I'm sorry for obsessing but I just want to make sure nothing goes wrong." Akane sighed.

"Don't worry mum. I'm safe now. Granny can't take me away now." Kanako smiled.

"This is the first time I've seen you smile since this whole thing started." Akane noted.

Kanako nodded and smiled again. "It's just that when this whole thing started I wasn't really sure what was right. Then when I talked to my friends and found out how sad they would be if I left I was happy. One of them even confessed to me. I'm glad you stood up for me and gave me a chance to finish high school on my terms."

"This person who confessed to you. I need to…" Keita declared but was stopped by Akane.

"Leave her alone, she's in high school. We got together in high school remember." Akane reminded.

"Don't worry dad, I told her that she was just being irrationally worried." Kanako reassured.

"It was a 'her', times have changed." Akane mumbled.

"I'm glad you're happy but be careful. My mother doesn't exactly take the law seriously." Keita warned.

"What do you mean?" Kanako asked.

"It's nothing but just watch out." Keita replied.

"Don't worry Kanako. Your granny will eventually come around." Akane said hopingly because she knew Kanako still loved Hina.

"I hope too. I really wanted granny to be at my graduation." Kanako revealed.

Before they could continue there was a knock at the door. Keita got up and went downstairs to answer the door. After awhile he returned with a young man.

"Hello, I'm Detective Makoto Doumoto." The young man greeted.

"Makoto Doumoto, Ishiyama told us about you. It's nice to meet you." Akane greeted.

"Hello." Kanako said meekly, she was too used to dealing with her 'uncle' Ishiyama.

"Have a seat please." Keita offered.

"Thank you." Makoto said as he sat down.

"So what brings you by?" Akane asked.

"Detective Ishiyama kept pushing the superintendent and insisting that Hinata Urashima was a threat to Kanako. The superintendent passed it on to me to assess that since I was the only detective without a case." Makoto explained.

"We've already explained all this to Ishiyama." Akane said.

"You won't be dealing with him anymore and I suggest you don't contact him regarding this anymore. Detective Ishiyama got in a lot of trouble for being too close to you in this matter. There was a complaint that he is using the police to push a personal agenda." Makoto revealed.

"I hope he doesn't get in too much trouble because of us. We shouldn't have called him." Keita fretted.

"It'll be alright. We'll make sure he doesn't get into anymore trouble." Akane reassured.

"You currently have a protection order; do you know how it works?" Makoto asked.

"Yes, I've read everything there is to read about this." Akane answered.

"Here's my number. If Hinata Urashima breaks this order, call me." Makoto handed Keita a small business card.

"Thank you, but should we do anything like keep her here till you get here?" Keita asked.

"I advise against it. Even if she breaks the order you have no legal recourse to hold her. If you do it may work against you." Makoto warned.

"That's good to know." Akane nodded.

"Before I go I have one question. Do you know of any illegal activities that Hinata Urashima is currently or has ever been involved in?" Makoto questioned.

Keita looked away from the detective. "Nothing that I know off."

"Okay, I guess that's it. I'll go talk to Hinata Urashima now." Makoto said getting up.

"Why are you going to talk her? She's the perpetrator her. She'll twist the truth and lie." Akane warned.

"When you apllied for the protection order having a cop helped you out. The judge overlooked Ishiyama's bias in the matter and granted the order on his recommendation. That bias got Ishiyama in trouble. I need to at least question Hinata to be unbiased. Over the years there have been allegations of abuse and use for tactical advantage when it comes to protection orders so I need to cover all my bases." Makoto explained before leaving.

XXXXXX

Motoko stretched her muscles as she practiced her bokken swing in the school gym. She was the last member of the team who remained from the after school practice. Her small fan club of Miko and Tae cheered her on from the side lines.

When Motoko was done with the exercise Miko and Tae ran up to her carrying a towel and a bottle of iced water. Motoko emptied the contents of the bottle over her head to cool herself down before drying off with the towel as the two younger girls gossiped.

"Did you hear that creep Fried tried asking out Mira?" Tae whispered.

"Really, I hope she put him down in his place. Mira is too good for that pervert." Miko snickered.

"How do you know he is a pervert?" Motoko asked.

Tae and Miko looked at each other confused before looking back at Motoko.

"He's a guy, he has to be perverted." Tae replied.

"You're always telling us that men are no good and only think about using women." Miko added.

"Do I really?" Motoko questioned.

"Yeah, you were saying it ever since I started coming to this high school. You opened my eyes to the truth." Tae exclaimed.

"If it wasn't for you we wouldn't have known how evil and perverted men are. We would have become one of their victims." Miko inserted.

"I really was a bully." Motoko mumbled.

"You weren't a bully. You were our savior." Miko refused.

"No, I forced my own ideals on others without thinking about how they felt about it." Motoko reiterated.

"No way, you showed us the light. We accepted the truth and we became your voice." Tae shouted.

Motoko sighed as she realized she created a cycle of regret. She had turned the girls into man haters and the girls in turn spurred on her crazed, sexist paranoia.

"Have you ever given thought to the idea that I may have been wrong?" Motoko questioned.

"No way, we've never doubted you or your beliefs." Miko yelled.

"Well, the truth is I think I was wrong. There are men out there that are evil and perverted but I don't think that all men are. There are some men that aren't." Motoko replied.

"This can't be. They've somehow gotten to you and tricked you." Tae cried.

"Don't worry senpai; we will stay by your side during your time of crisis." Miko declared.

Motoko shook her head and shrugged her shoulders, she knew it would take time to undo everything that had been done but she wouldn't give up.

XXXXX

Makoto knocked on the door of the hotel room that he had been told Hina was staying at. The old woman opened the door and invited the detective into her very modest hotel room. The room was very simple with a just bed, coffee table, TV and a bathroom.

"Should we wait for your lawyer?" Makoto questioned.

"I'm just an innocent old lady. I don't need a lawyer for a simply questioning." Hina replied.

"I was expecting something a bit more lavish." Makoto commented.

"I'm an old woman and I don't have much money." Hina chuckled.

"That's not something I would expect from something who just returned from touring the world." Makoto noted.

"I thought my time on this world was up and that's why I spent my life's savings." Hina answered.

"So is that why you came back to take your granddaughter." Makoto questioned.

"Exactly, I'm an old lady with very little time left. I just wanted to spend time with my favorite granddaughter and spoil her while I still have the energy. I wanted to impart on her my lifetime worth of knowledge." Hina sobbed.

"That's not what your son and daughter-in-law think." Makoto mentioned.

"This is all the work of Akane. I never liked her for my son. My son could have been so much more than a baker. If he only married someone better. Akane has always hated me. She turned my son and granddaughter against me." Hina cried.

"If that's the case then I'm wondering how Akane Urashima managed to convince Detective Ishiyama to side with her." Makoto questioned.

"It's simply really. Keita, Hayate and Akane were all childhood friends and grew up together. When they were younger, Hayate had a puppy dog crush on Akane. At one stage Hayate and Keita came to blows over it." Hina explained.

"I see." Makoto nodded.

"I don't know why the police are wasting their precious time with this. This is just a case of a malicious daughter-in-law trying to hurt her mother-in-law." Hina explained.

"Akane Urashima is coming across as a mother protecting her daughter from a selfish grandmother, according to the recording Detective Ishiyama made." Makoto retorted.

"My lawyer explained that to the court, that recording was not the full extent of the conversation. Hayate tricked me into saying those things." Hina declared.

"You're alleging that a veteran detective manipulated an old woman into making self damning statements. At the moment I'm on the fence about this matter." Makoto revealed.

"On the fence?" Hina questioned.

"The police have a very important duty to protect the people. It would be a shame to waste time on a matter that doesn't warrant it. As it stands I'm here in the middle of a family dispute because a senior detective was pushing it." Makoto confessed.

"You have to believe me. I'm just an old lady who wants to spoil her granddaughter. I love Kanako. She's the light of my life. This is all because Akane hates me." Hina sobbed.

"I don't have to believe anything you say." Makoto scoffed.

"What?" Hina exclaimed stunned.

"You rented one of the cheapest rooms in the hotel yet you have that." Makoto pointed to a bottle of bourbon on the coffee table. "That drink costs five times as much as this room."

Hina cursed the detective's knowledge of alcohol as she tried to think of something. "That was a gift from my lawyer."

"Shinji Aoba is too cheap to give a gift that expensive. Why do you keep lying to me?" Makoto countered.

"I'm the victim here." Hina emphasized. "Akane and Hayate have banded together to keep me from my granddaughter and turned my son against me. They are attacking me with an unjust protection order."

"Do you expect me to believe that?" Makoto gave the old woman a disbelieving look.

"If you don't believe me then ask my grandson Keitaro. He knows firsthand how evil Akane is and how she hates me." Hina declared.

XXXXX

**AN: I know is been a while but writer has gotten a lot tougher with less free time. I know this chapter deviated away from Keitaro but I wanted to give some of the other characters a chance. **

**Next chapter Keitaro is back and Onizuka visits again expecting his apologizes. **


	11. Chapter 11

**It's been a while since I updated. It's been tough to write with campus getting so hectic. First sorry for updating so late and second sorry for this chapter being shorter than normal.**

**Thanks to Grey Wolf4 for his help with this chapter**

**Chapter 11**

The sun shined brightly over the Hinata House creating a serene atmosphere that would soon turn to chaos. Urumi lead Onizuka up the stairs to the Hinata to receive the apologies that he had been promised.

When they reached the top of the stairs they found Motoko, Naru, Kitsune, Shinobu, Keitaro and Yamato waiting. Naru looked like a frigid ice sculpture unyielding in her demeanor.

"I'm sorry for what happened last week. It was not my place to judge your relationship or try to intervene. I'm also sorry for trying to attack you without provocation." Motoko burst out surprising everyone.

The kendo girl had been practicing with Shinobu and couldn't control herself. She just wanted to get it over with.

"Wow, after what happened last week I thought I would never hear those words." Onizuka laughed.

Motoko bowed before retreating into the house.

"She's just feeling a bit self conscious." Shinobu reassured.

"I think it's my turn to apologize." Kitsune spoke up.

Everyone was surprised that Kitsune was actually stepping up to own up to her part in the incident but wary of her true intentions.

"I feel I owe you a personal apology for my role in the unfortunate incident last week. It was not my place to say anything to Naru and Motoko. I shouldn't have tried to create problems for my own amusement. I hope you will be able to forgive me. I have tremendous respect for you and your relationship. I'm terribly sorry." Kitsune apologized.

Everyone was even more surprised by her actual apology and staring at Kitsune. The fox then pretended to be embarrassed and walked away.

Naru glared at Urumi and mumbled.

"I didn't catch that." Urumi replied.

"I'm sorry." Naru repeated.

"Is that it?" Onizuka asked.

"I was requested to apologize and I have. I have nothing else to do here." Naru scoffed and walked away.

"Naru!" Keitaro called out angry but Urumi restrained the manager.

"I think I'll have a talk with her later." Urumi calmed him down.

"Let's go inside everyone. I prepared some snacks." Shinobu declared.

Everyone walked into the house to find Su rushing towards them.

XXXXXX

Makoto paused and sighed as he looked at the long staircase that was before him. He pulled out his phone and began typing away.

"You're still attached to that thing." A voice laughed.

"Minoru Takunaga…" Makoto said as he turned around unsure.

Once he confirmed who the person was he embraced him in a hug.

Minoru Takunaga was a quite tall and skinny young man around Makoto's age. He had short spiky blonde hair and was wearing a business suit that made him look very professional.

"It's been forever." Makoto spoke releasing him.

"I know. We haven't seen each other since high school." Minoru sighed.

"So what are you up to these days?" Makoto asked.

"I work for the National Tax Agency now. I received an anonymous tip that there have been some irregular tax activities from this dorm. Hidden assets and what not." Minoru revealed.

"You mean the Hinata House; I'm here to question the owner about his grandmother. Need some back up?" Makoto offered.

"What line of work did you get into?" Minoru raised an eyebrow.

"I'm a Police Detective!" Makoto stated proudly.

"No way, you became a detective. I guess that would be the best use of your skills." Minoru marveled.

As the two young men quickly caught up they were joined by a young woman. She had dark red hair that fell past her shoulders with bangs and wore a formal black dress.

"Ahem, I seem not to have gotten an invitation to this reunion." She coughed.

"Mai…" Makoto began.

"…Annojyou." Minoru completed.

"It must be a long time for you to use my full name." Mai laughed.

"It really has been a long time." Makoto nodded.

"Last I heard you were studying to get your degree in…" Minoru said but couldn't remember what.

"I did get my degree and now I'm a social worker for the Minors Bureau." Mai explained. "I know it's not much compared to a detective and a member of the Tax Agency." She said revealing she had been keeping tabs on her friends.

"So what's a social worker for the Minors Bureau doing all the way out here?" Makoto questioned.

"We received a complaint that the Hinata House girl's dorm may be endangering minors." Mai answered.

"Just what on earth is going on at this place?" Minoru questioned.

"I don't know myself but with PCP reunited, I'm sure we can get down to the bottom of it." Makoto smirked putting his phone away.

XXXXX

Onizuka stood stunned as Su was on the floor in front of him. The foreigner had come running full speed and attempted to drop kick him but ended up bouncing off.

"Wow that was amazing." Yamato noted.

"You must have an amazing center of gravity." Keitaro mumbled.

"What the hell was that?" Urumi screamed.

"I'm not sure." Onizuka replied.

"Su, what are you doing. You can't do that." Shinobu scolded.

"Can I try it again?" Su asked ignoring Urumi and Shinobu.

"What are you talking about?" Onizuka asked.

"The traditional greeting for a non related male in Molmol." Su smiled.

"There's no way that's a traditional greet." Onizuka huffed.

"Yes way it is." Su laughed.

"Well if that were true I reckon every guy in Molmol would wear a helmet." Onizuka retorted.

"I don't know about that, all I know is that it's fun for me." Su giggled.

"I want to know what the hell was going through your mind when you just attacked me like that." Onizuka demanded to know as Urumi glared at the foreigner giving her a look demanding to know the same thing.

"What was going through my mind, I was thinking about how far you would fly if I kicked you." Su answered.

Onizuka couldn't believe the answer. "Do you even have any idea of right and wrong?"

Su just shrugged her shoulders.

"Shouldn't you do something?" Yamato whispered to Keitaro.

"I'm just going to stand back, Urumi told me Onizuka is a teacher that specializing in problem children. This will be good for Su." Keitaro whispered back.

"Do you think feigning ignorance makes what you did alright?" Onizuka questioned.

"I don't know what feigning is." Su pouted.

"I think you do. I think you know that you hurt people but you just don't care about that as long as you're having fun." Onizuka called the girl out.

Su began laughing. "It's just good fun."

"That's not what fun is. What you calling fun is inflicting pain on others and not caring about the consequences. Not all pain is physical. You're doing the wrong thing." Onizuka declared.

"Why would anyone get hurt when it's so much fun?" Su questioned.

"Fun? Would it be fun if I came running full speed at you and dropped kicked you in the chest." Onizuka retorted.

"That's not fair. You're an old man and I a girl." Su complained.

"Okay, what if Shinobu were to kick you in the chest to greet you." Onizuka questioned.

"That wouldn't be fun for me. I should be the one kicking people." Su admitted.

"You're just being a selfish little girl who likes to hurt people. What you're doing isn't fun for others. This is just plain abuse." Onizuka accused.

"I don't understand what you're saying. If it's fun for me then its fine." Su laughed.

"Going by your logic then this should be fine." Onizuka said as he pulled out a large rubber hand with the words "Mr. Slap-Happy" on it.

"He still has that on him." Keitaro muttered stunned.

The sound of knocking came from the front door.

"Don't worry, I'll check it out." Yamato said.

XXXXX

Ayano turned off her stove as she heard her doorbell ring. When she opened the door she received a massive shock. Standing before her was her sister Akane's mother-in-law, Hinata Urashima.

"It's been a while Ayano." Hina greeted.

"I haven't seen you since Akane and Keita got married." Ayano replied confused.

Saki, Suzuka and Miho were inside the apartment listening to the conversation. They had gathered there to help Ayano prepare lunch.

"I hear that your nephew has left your care." Hina spoke.

"Yes, he's staying with his cousin now. His parents aren't even bothered." Ayano revealed.

"The Hinata House is an all girls dorm and only my grandson should be allowed there. I don't like the idea of Yamato staying there and I've come up with a plan to make him move back in with you." Hina explained.

Ayano didn't like the fact Hina was here. Ayano then recalled all Akane's warning about how manipulative and selfish Hina really was. She wanted to kick the old woman out but restrained herself because Miho was listening.

"Thank you but I think I'll continue trying it my way." Ayano declined.

"Wait, what are you talking about? Your waiting around hasn't accomplished anything." Saki burst out.

Ayano felt like screaming at the ignorant girl but again held back.

"Saki, this is a private conversation." Ayano scolded.

"Let the girl talk. She has an opinion on the matter." Hina smirked.

"I want Yamato to come back. I miss him." Saki said.

"I'm sorry but I rather not upset Yamato anymore by trying any underhanded tactics." Ayano scoffed.

"I guess then I can only count on the girls. Suzuka, do you also want to help?" Hina questioned.

Suzuka was surprised the old woman knew her name and picked up that something was funny. Suzuka suspected Hina came here to use her and Saki and never intended to help Ayano.

"I'm sorry but I have better things to do than worry about that idiot." Suzuka sneered.

"Fine, you can do what you want." Saki shouted. "Let's go to my room and talk about this."

"I'm sorry but Hinata Urashima isn't welcome at this complex." Ayano declared.

"I see that Akane has gotten to you to. Well I guess I'll head down the street to the tea shop." Hina sighed.

Once Hina was gone, Saki took off after the old woman. Ayano tried to stop her but the young girl was too fast. Saki was able to catch up to Hina and followed her to the tea shop.

"So what is your plan?" Saki asked.

"From what I hear Keitaro is keeping Yamato around to help him run the dorm. If we can get someone else to help Keitaro then Yamato will be forced to leave and return here." Hina explained.

Hina never truly believed the words she was saying but rather tried to fill Saki will false hope.

"There's no one we could get to replace Yamato. Keitaro wouldn't replace his cousin with anyone." Saki pouted.

"He would if that person was his sister Kanako." Hina confessed.

The old lady began laying the bait to ensnare Saki in her plan.

"That's great. All you have to do is talk to your granddaughter." Saki exclaimed.

"Unfortunately I can't." Hina cried.

Saki began staring at the old woman unsure about what to say or do.

"My daughter-in-law is a cruel, nasty, heartless woman who has turned Kanako and my son against me. She has threatened me and forbidden me to see my granddaughter. I'm just a feeble old woman." Hina sobbed. "I have no way of talking to Kanako. If I could just get her to come see me then I could talk to her about running the inn with Keitaro."

"That's just horrible." Saki yelled. "Your daughter-in-law sounds like a monster."

"I miss Kanako so much. I want to see her so badly but I can't because of Akane. If only someone could bring her too me." Hina wept.

"I'll do it. I'll bring your granddaughter to you and then you can fix everything!" Saki exclaimed.

"Thank you so much, you're a really angel." Hina smiled.

XXXXX

Yamato opened the front door and was confronted by three people all shoving their identification into his face.

"Minoru Takunaga, National Tax Agency."

"Mai Annojyou, Minors Bureau."

"Detective Makoto Doumoto, Tokyo Metropolitan Police."

Yamato shuddered under the overwhelming authority being given off by the three individuals before him.

"How can I help you?" Yamato squeaked.

"Are you Keitaro Urashima?" Minoru asked.

"No, he isn't. I have a picture of Keitaro." Makoto spoke.

"I'm here to talk to Keitaro Urashima, can you please lead me to him." Mai requested.

"I have a warrant to search this Inn and the property." Minoru said holding up the document.

"It looks like it's going to get very busy here since I also have to interview this Keitaro." Makoto chuckled.

Yamato gulped as he led the three into the house and to the lounge. Yamato quickly regretted the decision as they walked in on Onizuka trying to spank Su with his rubber hand.

"Let go of that little girl!" Mai screamed.

Onizuka was surprised and released Su. "Just who the hell are you?"

"I'm a social worker for the Minors Bureau." Mai responded.

Onizuka then began sweating. "It's not what it looks like."

"Is this brute Keitaro?" Mai asked.

"No, the one with the glasses is Keitaro." Makoto answered.

"Keitaro Urashima, you are being investigated for the endangerment of minors who are currently under your care." Mai declared forgetting all about professionalism after being enraged by the scene she walked in on.

"What are you talking about?" Keitaro exclaimed.

"The Minors Bureau received a tip that Shinobu Maehara, Kaolla Su and Sarah McDougal are living here under your unsafe and dangerous care." Mai explained.

"That can't be true. This is a safe environment." Keitaro protested.

"Then what exactly did I walk in on?" Mai questioned.

"I can answer that." Onizuka declared.

"Please don't." Urumi tried to stop him.

"This girl has been very bad and she needed to be straightened out. As a teacher I felt it was my duty to." Onizuka explained.

"I think you should calm down Mai. We don't know what happened before we arrived here. Don't worry we'll get down to the bottom of it." Makoto reassured.

"I guess you're right. I think I'll talk to Shinobu first." Mai relented.

"Me?" Shinobu squealed.

"Yes, I would like to talk to you in your room. Would that be fine?" Mai asked.

Shinobu looked to Urumi and the blonde nodded.

"Okay." Shinobu mumbled as she led Mai to her room.

"Keitaro Urashima, my name is Minoru Takunaga and I'm with the National Tax Agency." Minoru introduced.

"Things are going from bad to worse." Onizuka gulped as he tried to hide his presence.

"I'm Detective Makoto Doumoto from Tokyo Metropolitan Police but right now I'll be taking a back seat to the National Tax Agency and Minors Bureau." Makoto revealed.

"How can I help you?" Keitaro asked extremely worried. He was concerned about Shinobu talking to Mai and now the tax man was here.

"I have a warrant to search your property." Minoru said as he handed Keitaro the documents.

"This all seems legit." Yui said peering over Keitaro's shoulder.

"Yui, when did you come down stairs?" Keitaro exclaimed stunned.

"I heard all the commotion and came down to see what was happening. This is a real search warrant. This guy can go through every room in the house as well the entire property." Yui sighed.

"Exactly, you seem to know what you're talking about. Are you a lawyer?" Minoru questioned.

"No, a law student. Keitaro don't say anything that can incriminate you. You have a habit of saying the wrong thing at the worst times." Yui warned.

"Makoto, the tip said to check the basement. Let's go." Minoru said.

"I see. You have an anonymous tip that is reliable but not exactly a hundred percent. That's why you came alone." Yui theorized.

"You're pretty sharp." Minoru complimented.

XXXXX

"What exactly are you hoping to find?" Yui asked.

Minoru, Makoto and Yui were walking through the basement of the Hinata House currently checking the rooms.

"The tip wasn't forthcoming but it did mention there was evidence of tax fraud and more." Minoru revealed.

"What exactly is more?" Yui asked.

Minoru shrugged his shoulders unsure himself.

"I think this is what they meant by more." Makoto muttered a few doors away.

He was joined by Minoru and Yui who were confused. The room was filled with boxes that were post marked from Molmol. Most of the boxes were open.

"What is it?" Minoru questioned.

"Can't you smell it? Can't you smell the explosives?" Makoto answered.

Yui became very frightened and backed away.

"These boxes contain …" Minoru mumbled.

"No, some of them contain machine parts." Makoto replied as he started going through the boxes.

"What about the explosives?" Minoru asked.

"I'll look for them. I suggest you get upstairs and make sure Keitaro doesn't try to flee." Makoto said.

Minoru nodded as he grabbed Yui and evacuated the basement.

The two rushed to the lounge where they found Keitaro sitting calmly having tea with Onizuka and Urumi.

"Why do you have explosives in the basement?" Yui demanded to know.

"What?!" Keitaro shouted spitting the tea out of his mouth.

"In the boxes marked Molmol!" Yui yelled.

"Those must be Su's." Keitaro explained. "She must be using them in her inventions."

"And you don't see any problem with a fourteen year old child handling dangerous explosives?" Mai questioned walking into the lounge.

"Sempai…" Shinobu mumbled.

"Makoto called me and told me what he found." Mai said.

"If there are explosives in the house then I think we should leave." Yui suggested.

Naru, Motoko, Kitsune and Sarah were already on their way out and everyone soon followed. Minoru grabbed Keitaro's arm as they exited.

"We're outside now, I think you can let go." Keitaro said.

"I'm not going to give you a chance to flee." Minoru responded.

"My cousin isn't some criminal." Yamato exclaimed getting angry.

"You better calm down kid." Onizuka tried to bring order.

"You shouldn't do anything that you'll regret." Motoko grabbed Yamato's shoulder.

Makoto exited the house on his phone.

"I've just finished calling for back up to come clean out that room." Makoto explained.

"I don't understand what's going on here." Keitaro protested.

"You had enough explosives in that room to blow this entire building sky high." Makoto replied.

"Su, what were you doing storing something so dangerous under the house." Keitaro scolded.

"I should be asking you that." Makoto then held up a delivery receipt with Keitaro's signature.

"That's for the deliveries from Molmol that Su ordered." Keitaro explained.

"The box with the explosives, you signed for it." Makoto said as he put a handcuff on Keitaro's hand.

"What are you?" Keitaro demanded to know.

"I'm detaining you for further questioning." Makoto responded.

"I'm innocent. I didn't know what was in the box. My grandmother had been accepting deliveries for Su long before I took over." Keitaro tried to explain.

Makoto gritted his teeth as something began nagging his mind.

**XXXXXX**

**Things are going down and the s%#t hit the fan. Hina's diabolical plan is unfolding and who knows how things will develop.**

**Now for some sad news, I'm going to be putting this story on Hiatus for while but don't fear I will return to finish it. **


End file.
